Valid to provide biometric ID cards as part of award-winning smart city initiative in Brazil

São Caetano do Sul has received an InovaCidade award from Smart Business Brazil for a smart city project managed by security technology company Valid, as the company prepares to issue biometric ID cards for the project’s next phase.

The first phase of the smart city initiative for São Caetano do Sul, a city in the State of São Paulo, involved mapping the city and comparing the results to property records to identify construction irregularities and reassess property tax rates.

Valid is now working towards the launch of a Unified Citizen Registry and issuing Municipal Identification Cards (CIM), which will contain fingerprints and photos in addition to biographic information. This stage of the project improves individuals’ access to ID, and concentrates citizen data in one database for several different uses by the city. The data will provide information about community needs in different locations, enabling more efficient organization of services such as trash collection, power distribution, and health and educational services.

Maintaining a consolidated and data-driven citizen registry is essential to appropriately allocating municipal public budget funds for public services based on the number of residents, according to São Caetano do Sul Mayor José Auricchio Júnior.

“It’s management technology that prioritizes citizens’ access to municipal services,” Auricchio explains. “The Unified Registry is a program that places our citizens front and center.”

IDC estimates global investments in smart cities will reach $135 billion by 2021, Valid says. The company provides smart city services in several countries, including digital solutions to identify citizens and create a unified database for governance improvement and to provide effective decision-making mechanisms.

VSBLTY recently partnered with Energetika to offer facial biometrics as part of a smart city offering for the Latin American market.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometrics  |  Brazil  |  digital ID cards  |  face photo  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  smart cities  |  Valid