Idemia inks biometrics and digital ID deal with Arab Economic Union worth over $200M for economic digitalization

A contract worth over $200 million in its first phase for a biometrics-backed digital identity system has been signed by the The Arab Economic Union and Idemia. The project is part of a plan to digitize Arab economies and ease their integration with the global economy, according to a Google translation of Emirati publication Sharjah 24.

A cooperation agreement was signed between the company and the League of Arab States’ Council of Arab Economic Unity, and is intended to support digital identity services, e-government and ecommerce processes, online banking services and advanced biometric security systems, according to the report.

A Tweet by the Arab Federation for Digital Economy includes a video, which suggests Idemia will work with different Arab countries on implementing strategic initiatives to improve their competitiveness and enhance global economic integration. The agreement also includes work on digital transformation projects already running.

Biometric digital identity will be implemented to support e-government and digital banking capabilities. By supporting innovation in both the public and private sectors, the initiatives are expected to yield “significant economic returns.”

The ‘Arab Vision for the Digital Economy’ was announced towards the end of 2018 in Abu Dhabi.

Idemia also reached a deal to provide digital identity services with fingerprint biometrics in Egypt earlier this year.

Article Topics

banking  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital government  |  digital identity  |  ecommerce  |  IDEMIA  |  Middle East