Thales wins contract for Swedish biometric travel and identity documents
Thales announced its subsidiary AB Svenska Pass has been awarded the contract to manufacture around 12 million biometric identity documents for Swedish citizens by the Swedish Police Authority.
The contract will see AB Svenka Pass create, personalize and deliver a variety of personal documents including biometric passports and national ID cards with photos formatted to support facial recognition and embedded fingerprint data.
As part of the new deal, Thales will also provide a next-generation enrolment kiosk solution to capture applicants’ biometric data in more than 110 locations in the country. The company notes its ability to manage the entire enrolment process, secure document manufacturing and personalization for the documents.
In Sweden, ePassports and electronic national ID were firstly released by the government in October 2005, and Thales has been spearheading the project since. The Swedish passport is considered amongst the most secure in the world, according to the announcement.
“Having supported our Swedish customers for more than two decades in multiple industries,” said Tommi Nordberg, VP Europe, Identity and Biometric Solutions at Thales, “this is yet another example of Thales’ strong commitment and local presence in the Nordic countries.”
Nordberg also believes the contract reflects the continued growth of the secure identity market in Sweden, but also worldwide.
“We are proud to be entrusted with delivering one of the world’s most sophisticated ePassports including the use of biometrics to ensure quick and secure cross-border movement for Swedish citizens,” the executive added.
Thales currently employs 83,000 workers in 68 countries, and the company generated sales of €19 billion (US$22.3 billion) in 2019.
Article Topics
biometric identification | biometric passport | biometrics | facial recognition | fingerprint biometrics | identity document | national ID | Sweden | Thales Digital Identity and Security
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