Biometrics enable swap of ‘dumb’ IDs for new formats and digital wallets

Biometrics are the bridge to a new generation of identity documents and digital credentials for a wide range of use cases, including travel, public services and online age checks in the most-read Biometric Update articles of the week. As credentials are asked to perform different tasks or complete transactions in new ways, legacy “dumb” IDs are being traded for more purpose-built digital IDs and identity documents. The UK is ending its passport contract with Thales early to replace it with one that includes more types of credentials, Nepal has concluded a review holding back its deal with Mühlbauer and Veridos, and age verification and estimation providers like Yoti have handled a surge in users in the first days of OSA enforcement.

Top biometrics news of the week

The first post-Brexit contract for UK passports was awarded to Thales, controversially to the Kingdom’s Labour Party, then in opposition. But passports and travel documents are changing, not least with the introduction of Digital Travel Credentials, prompting Home Office to tender a new contract before the previous one’s expiry. The contract, which could be worth up to $533 million, adds DTCs to Biometric Travel Documents for visas and immigration to the contract scope.

The UK government is hoping integration by the Department for Work and Pensions will double the users of its One Login SSO, as it mulls the introduction of a “BritCard” which an analyst warns will grow in price. The net effect is more money for more users of more IDs.

Nepal has been cleared to proceed with new contracts with Mühlbauer and Veridos for its biometric passports by a Supreme Court ruling. The Court found that Idemia Smart Identity’s challenge, which cited several alleged irregularities in the process, does not merit blocking the deal.

The final deadline for Europe’s border overhaul with fingerprint and face biometrics is set for April, 2026. The phased rollout of EES is slated to start in October, but when it concludes, so will the manual stamping of travel documents by border officials.

New Zealand has launched its RFP for a platform to issue digital credentials into the NZ Government Digital Wallet. DTCs are among a range of credentials the platform should support, and the government would like it to be delivered as a managed service. The country just picked tech suppliers for its Government App and digital wallet the previous week.

Ethiopia’s digital government transformation has now made 900 public services available online through service delivery platform MESOB and the country’s national digital ID, Fayda. Access requires connectivity too, though, which the country’s telcos are working on, and data interoperability, which is part of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology’s DPI efforts.

Digital government transformation must include systems secured with robust credentials and MFA, or else insurers may not cover the cost of a cyber breach. The Canadian city of Hamilton found this out when it was told its CA$5 million (US$3.6 million) claim will not be covered, CBC reports.

Efforts in the U.S. to reduce reliance on manual comparisons with physical passports for airport security and immigration checks depend on the TSA’s use of face biometrics, but the Algorithmic Justice League flags concerns about the way the program is being rolled out in a new report. Most travelers say they were not told they could opt out, and those who do face ridicule and verbal abuse by agents. A small cadre of U.S. lawmakers are also pushing to roll back the program.

At the same time, America’s federal government is facing accusations of surveillance overreach on the part of ICE with its expanding ankle bracelet program and a $128 million contract for Leidos to expand the FBI’s NGI biometric and criminal history database.

New Orleans’ new municipal ID card program has built in privacy protections to allow people to interact with local services without sharing data with ICE to limit the risk of exposing them to enforcement actions.

Interactions where credentials are used to prove attributes, rather than identity, are increasingly rapidly as well, with the UK’s Online Safety Act prompting a major traffic spike for Yoti, and for VPNs. But the AVPA points out the law makes no liability allowance for platforms accessed with a VPN, and children do not accidentally download VPNS to watch pornography.

Fears that age-gating will lead to censorship were stoked this week when game platform Itch removed titles with adult content to keep on the good side of payment processors. Itch blames activist group Collective Shout for the request from Stripe and PayPal.

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Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  identity management  |  week in review