Precise Biometrics received supplementary hardware order for national ID card project in Portugal
13 December, 2007
category: Biometrics, Government
Precise Biometrics has won a follow-up order linked to the biometric Portuguese ID card from its partner Zetes Burótica. Fourteen hundred units of Precise Biometrics’ combined fingerprint and smart card reader, Precise 250 MC, will be delivered by the end of this year. Precise Biometrics is also a key supplier of various components and services (amongst other the Middleware) of Portugal’s national ID card program. The new Portuguese ID card contains biometric information and replaces five previous cards.
PRECISE BIOMETRICS RECEIVES SUPPLEMENTARY HARDWARE ORDER FOR NATIONAL ID CARD PROJECT IN PORTUGAL
This spring Precise Biometrics won the procurement for a biometric solution for the Portuguese ID card, and now a follow-up order linked to the project has been received from its partner Zetes Burótica. 1,400 units of Precise Biometrics’ fingerprint reader Precise 250 MC will be delivered by the end of the year.
The order involves Precise 250 MC, a combined fingerprint and smart card reader, and will be used amongst other during the activation card process, when the Portuguese citizens collect their new Citizen Card verifying their ownership of the card. Delivery is planned before the end of the year.
Precise Biometrics is working together with its partner Zetes Burótica, which distributes and integrates hardware, and is also a key supplier of various components and services (amongst other the Middleware) of Portugal’s national ID card program.
The reason why Zetes Burótica chose Precise Biometrics’ fingerprint reader is understandable according to Pascal Fevry, General Manager, of Zetes Burótica. In his own words: “Precise Biometrics is a well known supplier of Match-on-Card solutions and has previous experience from the Portuguese Citizen Card project. But above all they could offer a fingerprint reader that supports Mach-on-Card at an attractive price level in combination with exellent performance.”
Precise Biometrics has previously communicated that it believes in a large aftermarket for the Portuguese ID card, which has been confirmed by this new order. Precise Biometrics’ President and CEO, Thomas Marschall, sees the follow-up order as a positive signal. “This is the first follow-up order from Portugal, and of course it means a lot to us. It’s also a confirmation that our cooperation with Zeter Burótica is working really well. Zetes Burótica has a very large network in the region and we hope that our joint efforts will generate further business opportunities,” says Thomas Marschall.
The new Portuguese ID card contains biometric information and replaces five previous cards: the health care card, voter’s card, tax payer’s card, the social security card, and the traditional ID card. The roll-out of the new Citizen Card started during spring this year and over a seven-year period 14 million cards with fingerprint information will be rolled out to the Portuguese citizens. Apart from the Portuguese national ID card, Precise Biometrics has also won ID card projects in Asia and the Middle East. There is expectation of a valuable aftermarket in each individual case.
Precise Biometrics AB is an innovative company offering solutions for fingerprint recognition to prove people’s identities. With top-of-the-line expertise in fingerprint verification, Precise Biometrics offers fast, accurate and secure authentication of a person. Our core product Precise BioMatch™ integrates into ID and bank card programs systems and secure chips, as well as systems for access control to buildings, computers and networks. We act on a global market and our technology is licensed to more than 78 million users all over the world. The Precise Biometrics group has subsidiaries in Sweden (with group headquarters in Lund), Great Britain, Hong Kong and USA, and a joint venture agreement in China. Precise Biometrics is listed on the small cap list at the Nordic Exchange in Sweden. For more information, please visit www.precisebiometrics.com.
