HID Global upgrades Argentina’s biometric passport

HID Global announced it has been working with the government of Argentina to upgrade the country’s ICAO biometric passport. The next generation ePassport will reduce costs, improve security and enhance the reliability of data reading at border control points.

The government is transitioning its electronic booklet from a printed antenna to a more reliable copper wire antenna, which a vast majority of the ePassports around the world use. It has a stronger bond with the chip holding the traveler’s data, reducing the failure rate. The booklet also features an electronic cover built with a radio-frequency shield, decreasing the risk of unauthorized access to chip data when passports are not being inspected.

The process to upgrade the Argentine passport began with a public bid last year, delivery of the new electronic covers started in March 2018, and the Argentine government began issuing the enhanced ePassports to citizens in April. The new eCover solution from HID’s Citizen Identity Solutions business unit is expected to save the Argentine government $2.3 million annually.

“The Argentine government was looking for a high-quality solution for its latest ePassport and wanted to align with the global market trends,” explained Eduardo Lerner, President at the Institute of Publications and Statistics (IPESA), HID’s partner that assisted with the implementation of the new technology in Argentina. “We were able to combine HID’s state-of-the-art TLam eCover with our trusted delivery and advice to support Argentina’s goal to provide its citizens with one of the most secure passports in the world.”

Article Topics

biometric passport  |  biometrics  |  government purchasing  |  HID