A hybrid national identification card to be introduced in Barbados in a matter of weeks will have a mobile application version, and there is the possibility of citizens being able to use it for travel, officials said Wednesday.
The officials discussed the benefits of the Barbados national digital ID, which is to be rolled out by the end of March, at an online forum hosted by the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA), in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), under the theme e-Readiness: Digital ID.
Antonio Lythcott, Project Manager in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology acknowledged that the current two-week lockdown affected the planned introduction of the digital ID. But he gave an assurance that an aggressive education campaign would be introduced in the coming days.
“Yes, it is. It is coming in the first quarter,” said Lythcott.
“We are not only enhancing the [ID] card, but we are also having a mobile app. So the mobile app will derive from the physical card so they both co-exist. We all remember to leave home with our phone, but do we all remember to leave home with our ID card? Sometimes we don’t unless it is in our wallets or purse, but if you have that mobile application it has the ability to represent the physical card.
“So we are not only getting a new and enhanced physical card but you will be getting a mobile app to associate with that card. And then we have a number of different processes in terms of if you change your mobile phone what you need to do and if you lose your card. If you lose your card that mobile app becomes invalid once it is reported to the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC), and we have to go through the process of issuing a new card, and then you would derive that app from the new card you receive. There is a process that we have developed and that information will be shared with the public.”
The current Barbados ID card, which has been around since 1979, is currently a laminated paper containing the basic information of a registration number, the holder’s name, sex, date of birth, nationality, height, date of issue and a signature.
Lythcott was careful not to go into too much detail about the new digital ID, which will be made of a PVC material. He said it would have several physical and electronic security features and allow individuals to access a range of government services, which he said would be publicized over time.
He also said the plan was to allow Barbadians to use the new hybrid ID card as a “travel document”.
Lythcott said: “We are following international standards, and one of the international standards we are following is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard. So that gives you some insight as to where we are looking to take the card. The card can actually represent a travel document once the necessary agreements are in place. So you can understand the number of features we are looking to bring with this card.”
Outlining some of the benefits of the card, he said the digital ID card will eliminate the need for each Government department to maintain separate common information, significantly reduce or eliminate the filling out of paper forms, reduce the requirement for submitting original documents when doing business, and with the approval of individuals, information can be shared with private sector entities.
Lythcott declared that the ID card will be easy to use, affordable, safe and efficient, adding that officials were cognizant of the special requirements when it came to the elderly and the disabled community.
He said one of the special features of the card is an imprint that will aid the visually impaired in identifying and using the card.
The new card, to be issued by the Electoral Department, will be for citizens and residents of Barbados; students and workers who are in Barbados for six months or more; CARICOM Skilled Nationals; employees of the Caribbean Development Bank and other regional institutions; and in some cases, family members of some of these categories.
Lythcott, who explained that getting the first card will require people to show up in person to receive it, said: “There is a process that we will be communicating to the public in the next couple of weeks. Once we get past our fight against COVID-19 we will aggressively start a communication campaign where we will provide the public with the necessary information on how they can obtain the new ID card.”
Further highlighting some features of the new ID card, he said it will eliminate the need of an individual having to visit all the utility companies and other agencies to report a change in address when they relocate, explaining that once the information is reported to the EBC it will be updated automatically “in the system”.
He said an oversight group consisting of several units responsible for legislation, technical matters, implementation, communication, and business, was already established. An oversight committee with various stakeholder groupings is also in place.
Lythcott also promised that the individual’s data would be protected.
“We actually have a cybersecurity working group who are actually involved in every single decision that we make as it relates to technical matters and many operational procedural matters as it relates to the digital ID,” he said.
Stating that the features of the card would be introduced over time, Lythcott said individuals will have the option to say what services they would use the ID to access.
He told the forum: “The digital ID isn’t something that you must use on day one. There are obviously persons who will need to be comfortable with the services. So there is nothing that is going to be mandated for example. You will always have the option to do some of the services, all of the services or none of the services. And none of the services mean that you will use the ID card similarly as you have been using your ID card as of today.
“We are expecting a high adoption rate of the new ID. There will be that transition process of where we will have the old ID and the new ID, but many services will be offered on this new ID card.”
(marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)
