Contracts for national biometric travel IDs won by HID in Bahrain, Veridos in Guyana

A pair of major contracts for national biometric travel ID documents have been won by HID Global and Veridos.

HID Global has won a contract to deliver end-to-end biometric passport technology for enrollment, personalization and issuance to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The contract includes HID’s SOMA chip operating system, and its modular HID Integrale software. Biometric data from Bahraini citizens will be stored in an electronic chip to enable the country to join the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Public Key Directory (PKD) group, which allows the exchange of data between 180 nations.

Bahrain’s new passport will meet the highest level of security, HID says, with a color portrait of the passport holder and the company’s Mirage security feature.

The new passport will make airport processes easier for its holders, as well as ease visa issuance and exemptions, government officials say.

The value of the contract was not revealed.

Barbados selected HID to design its new biometric passports a year ago.

Veridos wins Guyana contract

Guyana’s government has chosen Veridos to deliver an ICAO-compliant ID card intended for international travel, as well as access to public services and verification for private sector transactions, the Guyana Chronicle reports.

Veridos submitted one of two bids for the project, and was assessed as the better option by the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) and the Office of the National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Advisor.

“Through this card, the banking sector now can have fingerprint verification and validation of the person who’s before them,” says Guyana President Dr. Irfaan Ali, as quoted by the Chronicle. “So, the need for proof of address and all the audit documentation is eliminated. The cost of doing business, the effectiveness, the competitiveness, the efficiency will all improve as a result of this technology.”

The capabilities of the digital ID card are meant to align with Guyana’s plan to digitize health, education, security and agricultural services, as well as permit and license processing.

The project is expected to be implemented over the next 12 months, and the contract stipulates five years of support and maintenance.

Guyana is supported in its national ID card project by the United Arab Emirates.

Veridos updates smartcard software for Java

Veridos has also unveiled updates to its Sm@rtCafé Expert 8.0 and Applet Suite 4.0 smartcard software, which now support Java to lower the cost and effort required to integrate further software with digital identity documents. The software supports IDs with broad application, like Guyana’s.

The Applet Suite 4.0 enables customers to build modular applications based on its Sm@rtCafé Expert software.

Possible applications include electronic signatures or authentication for access control, registration to insurance or driver’s licenses.

The software complies with the Java Card 3.1 standard and Common Criteria Certificate 6+.

“With the upgrades, as well as the move to a Java-based system, we enable our partners to use a software solution that they can customize and further expand as they see fit,” says Marc-Julian Siewert, CEO at Veridos. “They can make changes and innovations much more easily with the new standardization and are thus ideally positioned for the future.”

Article Topics

Bahrain  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  government purchasing  |  Guyana  |  HID  |  ICAO PKD  |  national ID  |  travel documents  |  Veridos