Bulgaria’s biometric ID runs into issues in banks, eID may also face trouble

Bulgaria has recently rolled out new biometric ID cards but unfortunately for its citizens, some banks have not prepared to process them. Over the past few weeks, Bulgarians have discovered that certain bank branches lack card readers that can read their freshly-minted ID documents.

Citizens have been turned away from performing basic banking transactions and told to return in several days, according to news outlet Sega which collected their complaints from social media. The Association of Banks in Bulgaria (ABB) responded that the incidents were isolated to banks that had issues with card readers.

“These issues were promptly addressed upon identification,” says the association. “In cases of reader malfunctions, banks resort to manual verification processes to prevent inconvenience for customers.”

New biometric IDs that contain fingerprint and facial data were introduced in the country on June 17th. The government is also planning to introduce an electronic identity (eID) for accessing government services and systems.

Problems may arise in that area too. e-Government Minister Valentin Mundrov noted that the eID mobile app has been halted even though the prototype has been completed. The app is designed to provide citizens with access to government services.

Mundrov has also criticized the Ministry of Internal Affairs for excluding his department from overseeing the production of the new biometric ID cards and their chips. The card’s chip was produced by a consortium including Mühlbauer which won a 10-year contract valued at US$134 million.

Bulgaria has made Evrotrust’s eID scheme the country’s official digital identity program.

Article Topics

banking  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  Bulgaria  |  digital ID  |  identity document