Fergie's Tech Blog

South Africa pushing electronic ID cards

Lucy Sherriff writes in The Register:

The South African government is planning to speed up the introduction of electronic ID cards and passports, according to reports, in an effort to crack down on identity fraud. The switchover is expected to cost the government around R1.5bn (around £127m).

ID books are already commonplace in South Africa, and include a photograph and the finger print of the holder. This new legislation would swap the existing paper-based format for a credit card-style ID card with the biometric data stored on a chip, with the transition beginning in six months' time.

posted by Fergie @ 10/26/2005 06:21:00 AM