Thales is delivering another batch of one million eID cards to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
This decision follows the first batch delivered since September 2007 for citizens and residents.
Thales is also providing consultancy, related applications and training services.
The high-end cards – the official ID for all Bahrainis – combine built-in biometrics and contact and contactless technologies.
The new national ID card can also be used as travel documents in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, increasing speed, convenience and security of identity verification at border crossings.
Bahrain biometric eID at a glance
- Mandatory contact and contactless eID card
- Validity is five years
- Printed: name, place and date of birth, unique identity card number and blood type
- In the chip: unique identity card number, occupation and employer, fingerprint, signature, and portrait.
The card is an identification card for online and offline transactions.
There's more.
Citizens and residents are benefiting from the same technology and related services.
Biometrics and privacy
Citizens and residents can use the biometric features on the card to enter the country using electronic gates or e-gates, which use a fingerprint reader to match the fingerprints stored on the card and verify an individual's identity at the immigration.
The national ID card uses the "match on card" mechanism. The fingerprint comparison is processed on the card using the microprocessor rather than the reader. Because the data never leaves the card, interception of data during transfer to a reader is just impossible.
GCC residents to get Bahraini smart ID cards
To ease transactions at service departments in the Kingdom, investors from other Gulf Cooperation Council member states will get special Bahraini smart ID cards according to Khaleej Time of 2 April 2017.
Bahrain seeks to ease investments and strengthen ties with its neighbours.
The initiative falls in line with the following:
- The Royal Decree No. 2 of 2013 regarding the usage of the identity card as proof of a unified identity when conducting transactions and ISsistent with the eGov national strategy and the execution of online transactions
- Article One of Law No. 46 for 2006 (regarding the ID card).