Gemalto delivers first smart card driving license program in Mexico
13 June, 2007
category: Biometrics, Transit
Gemalto has successfully delivered Mexico’s first smart card driving license to the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state, Mexico. The contract includes 900,000 driving licenses over a period of 3 years. This new card also acts as a reliable ID document and opens up the potential for additional uses like being used as a standardized healthcare card for all citizens. The microprocessor securely stores a high-resolution picture of the holder, his/her blood type, and the drivers’ credentials to enable digital signature. The chip also contains the history of drivers’ fines, allowing the transit authorities to easily monitor drivers’ behavior on the roads and could, in the future, be used for insurance companies to calculate policy costs. Fingerprint and facial picture of the driver are encoded in the card body. On the streets, police officers will verify citizens through a handheld terminal.
Gemalto Delivers First Smart Card Driving License Program in Mexico
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 13, 2007–Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), a world leader in digital security, today announces that it has successfully delivered Mexico’s first smart card driving license to the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state, Mexico. The contract includes 900,000 driving licenses over a period of 3 years. This new card also acts as a reliable ID document and opens up the potential for additional e-schemes like healthcare for the benefits of all citizens.
The solution includes the Gemalto smart card platform that will securely store the driver’s information, and a sophisticated card body with specific security features that makes it difficult to copy and counterfeit. Prime contractor Cosmocolor handles the enrollment process and provides on-site personalization of the solution.
The driving license is a chip-based ID document that entitles a specific person to drive a certain category of vehicle. The microprocessor securely stores a high-resolution picture of the holder, his/her blood type, and the drivers’ credentials to enable digital signature. The chip also contains the history of drivers’ fines, allowing the transit authorities to easily monitor drivers’ behavior on the roads and could, in the future, be used for insurance companies to calculate policy costs. Fingerprint and facial picture of the driver are encoded in the card body.
In the street the policemen will be holding a handheld terminal. This new terminal can read the microprocessor of the driving license, showing on screen the digitalized picture stored in the chip. The policeman then can see whether it matches the picture encoded in the card body of the driving license. The terminal also encodes a list of most frequent driving penalties and enables the policeman to write into the chip the corresponding code each time the driver breaks the law, as well as other details such as the date and place.
“Thanks to this new scheme, we are now sure to have the fines and sanctions apply to the driver and not the vehicle” explains Jorge Domene, director of the Instituto de Control Vehicular. “The other major benefit of this smart card-based program lies in the information sharing capability since the chip allows for collecting and sharing information about the driver with other public Mexican institutions. We now can compare the fingerprint and photos with the Justice Department for example, making the driving license an efficient tool for public security”.
Eric Claudel, vice president Latin America for Gemalto, comments: “The Instituto de Control Vehicular chose to adopt a smart card-based solution combining the latest biometrics identification techniques with the most advanced security features. As a result, the Nuevo Leon state now enjoys a fast, secure and user-friendly scheme for driver registration, which should reduce fraud and administration costs. As this new card also acts as the national ID document, it might as well be upgraded with additional e-services like healthcare.”
About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is a leader in digital security with pro forma 2006 annual revenues of €1.7 billion, operations in about 100 countries and more than 10,000 employees including 1,500 R&D engineers. In a world where the digital revolution is increasingly transforming our lives, Gemalto’s solutions are designed to make personal digital interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable.
Gemalto provides end-to-end digital security solutions, from the development of software applications through design and production of secure personal devices such as smart cards, SIMs, e-passports, and tokens to the management of deployment services for its customers. More than a billion people worldwide use the company’s products and services for telecommunications, financial services, e-government, identity management, multimedia content, digital rights management, IT security, mass transit and many other applications.
As the use of Gemalto’s software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years. Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and Gemplus. For more information please visit http://www.gemalto.com.
