LEGIC employees using NFC, Belgium taps Gemalto
04 October, 2013
category: Biometrics, Financial, Government, NFC
LEGIC issues NFC badges to its employees
LEGIC employees and visitors are using multi-purpose NFC credentials on their handsets to perform tasks on a daily basis, from opening doors, to making photocopies or pay for drinks at vending machines.
The NFC badges have been a function of daily life for LEGIC employees since August 13, using smart phones and card-based badges to open doors and print documents by simply laying the mobile phone on a reader at the door or photocopier. LEGIC employees with an NFC badge have the option to use exclusively contactless applications, so in addition to use at photocopiers and vending machines, it is also possible to use the “follow-me” printing function as well as control the alarm system via a mobile phone.
At present, the supported applications include Selecta vending, Canon copying, alarm activation and de-activation and Kaba online and offline access. For employees, the system is relatively straightforward as they simply use their normal mobile device. The platform-independent solution is available for Android, Windows and Blackberry phone platforms, and with an NFC case, employees with an iPhone can use the LEGIC solution too.
Gemalto chosen to supply Belgian ePassports
Gemalto has revealed that is will be the primary vendor for Belgian ePassports, providign its Sealys ePassport solution.
The partnership between Gemalto and Belgium is set to begin in May 2014 at which point Gemalto will supply the Belgian Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs with some 400,000 ePassports each year. Meanwhile, Zetes will serve as the system integrator for the duration of the agreement.
Using Gemalto’s secure, embedded ICAO software, the Sealys ePassports store the unique personal data of the citizen, including fingerprint, to ensure reliable identity authentication. Zetes will be primarily responsible for the personalization and delivery of the finalized ePassports.
Argentine banks lauds Lumidigm biometrics in delivering pensions to retirees
Lumidigm has announced its selection by Banco Supervielle, a private bank in Argentina, as the bank’s FELABAN Financial Innovation Award winner for Lumidigm’s biometric identification project used for the secure transfer of pensions to retirees.
In Argentina, the payment of pension checks to public retirees is one of the bank’s most important customer segments, but had long been mired by a complex and tedious process. Pension recipients had to undergo an extensive authentication process with various documents and certificates.
Lumidigm’s biometric authentication solution changed all that by only requiring pensioners to simply offer a finger to prove their identity and receive their monthly stipend. Along with local partner TEKSOL S.A., Banco Supervielle’s investment in biometric kiosks has resulted in noticeable savings associated with fraud loss. Moreover, 170 human cashiers are being retrained as commercial advisors, allowing the bank to increase the level of attention it offers to its customers.
MorphoTrust transitions from TWIC to universal enrollment services
MorphoTrust has announced that it has achieved Final Operational Capability (FOC) for transition of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment operations to TSA’s new Universal Enrollment Services (UES).
MorphoTrust has transitioned 147 centers and is currently processing enrollments and registrations for the program, which will include the capture of biometric data — facial recognition and fingerprints — as well as biographic data.
TSA selected MorphoTrust for UES in 2012, and the transition from TWIC to UES started this April with MorphoTrust transitioning approximately 20 enrollment centers per week. The transition included new hardware and software along with staff training and improved call center support.
Zetes to deliver ePassports, e-gates for border control in Gambia
Zetes has been awarded a fifteen-year contract with the country of Gambia to implement biometric ePassports and gates for the country’s border control initiative.
Zetes will issue an estimated 40,000 passports each year with the aid of contractor, Africard. Implementation of the new biometric ePassports has already begun with the first ePassports expected to be delivered in December of 2013.
The Build, Operate and Transfer project will include the biometric enrollment and document personalization, and for the first time will see Zetes provide its e-gate — an automated identity control post — complete with iris recognition. Part and parcel to the implementation will be 10 permanent enrollment posts to be placed at various locations, including embassy buildings, throughout Gambia.
Collis Compliance Test Suite awarded GlobalPlatform qualification
UL’s Collis Compliance Test Suite has been acknowledged and qualified by GlobalPlatform’s ID Configuration under the agency’s Compliance Program.
Qualification of the Collis test suite means that UL can offer a wider portfolio of GlobalPlatform-qualified test suites that can comprehensively ensure the interoperability of smart-cards or secure elements (SE) based on GlobalPlatform technology.
The Collis Compliance Test Suite implements the official test suite developed for the GlobalPlatform Compliance Program and ensures the compliance of an ID card that leverages the GlobalPlatform Card ID Configuration specification based on version 2.2.1 technology. For example, the deployment of mobile identification credentials — mobile passports, mobile driving licenses, etc. — by a government organization to its citizens.