Gemalto enables biometric passports in over 30 different countries

• Advanced passport technologies combine stronger security with an enhanced traveler experience
• New ePassport trends will include growing deployment of eVisa information, smartphone-based digital identities and fully automated, biometric self-service passenger facilitation

Amsterdam, September 7 2017 - Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, announces that its advanced epassport technologies are now being used in over 30 different countries. Thanks to their outstanding security and the faster, more convenient border crossings they facilitate, the company's solutions help authorities strengthen homeland protection and improve the traveler experience. 

Gemalto's leading position has been built on the supply of complete travel documents and key components such as polycarbonate data pages, visible and hidden document security features, electronic passport covers and ICAO-compliant embedded software.  In addition, the company's secure embedded software has consistently outperformed the competition in international tests on speed over the last decade. Gemalto is also making an active contribution to the definition of international ePassport standards.

Introduced in 2005, the ePassport - which now represents 57% of passports in circulation - delivers enhanced fraud protection by incorporating a secure microprocessor that stores the holder's personal data and digital photo. Electronic passports include a standardized electronic portrait of the holder for facial recognition, which opens the door to a comprehensive range of automated, self-service airport services for passengers. This extends from check-in through to immigration control and boarding, resulting in an enhanced experience on arrival and departure.

The future ePassport

A new generation of ePassport will digitally store travel information such as eVisas and entry/exit stamps to support even more efficient immigration control.

The key trends in travel documentation identified by Gemalto include:

• Swift migration to tamper-proof polycarbonate data pages, which dramatically reduce the risk of fraud.
• Rapid growth in secure digital identity credentials. Sensitive ePassport data is stored on the holder's smartphone to create a secure companion to the physical passport, making life easier for travelers.
• Smart borders/smart airports to emerge at a faster pace. Combined with the hundreds of millions of ePassports now in circulation and a strong push behind biometrics (particularly facial recognition), they offer travelers quick and secure cross-border movement.

"Over the past decade, Gemalto has helped develop some of the world's most secure and attractive ePassports, including landmark projects in Algeria, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong,  Italy, Korea, Morocco, Peru,  Portugal, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and the USA." said Youzec Kurp SVP ID Document Solutions, Government Business Unit, for Gemalto. "Our success is based on close collaboration with partners, ensuring that the unique requirements of each project are always fully realized."

Sources:
¹Gemalto May 2017

More resources:
How Digital Travel Credentials could make travelers' lives easier
LDS2: the Next Generation of Machine Readable Passport
A 7-step guide to passport security design
The electronic passport in 2017
Virtual passport: your passport in the cloud?

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the global leader in digital security, with 2016 annual revenues of €3.1 billion and customers in over 180 countries. We bring trust to an increasingly connected world.

From secure software to biometrics and encryption, our technologies and services enable businesses and governments to authenticate identities and protect data so they stay safe and enable services in personal devices, connected objects, the cloud and in between.

Gemalto's solutions are at the heart of modern life, from payment to enterprise security and the internet of things. We authenticate people, transactions and objects, encrypt data and create value for software - enabling our clients to deliver secure digital services for billions of individuals and things.

Our 15,000+ employees operate out of 112 offices, 43 personalization and data centers, and 30 research and software development centers located in 48 countries.

For more information visit www.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.

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