Fiji plans biometric national ID system

Fiji’s government is planning a new national identification system secured by facial recognition and other biometrics, replacing the several ID cards and numbers that are currently used by citizens of the Pacific island nation, FBC News reports.

Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the government is working with different agencies to collect information necessary to formulate and implement the new system.

“What we have embarked on with the SCE is to build a national ID card and essentially individual citizens can be identified through photograph and other biometric information and they have one National ID number and at the back end, you have the different number that you currently have your driver’s license, FNPF number, your Tax Identification Number,” explains Sayed-Khaiyum.

The scope of the system will be worked out during the present fiscal year, and the initiative is expected to be rolled out within the next two years.

A recent report from ABI Research forecasts national ID issuance will grow by 50 million a year from 2018 to 2023.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  Fiji  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  national ID