The United Arab Emirates plans to replace physical ID cards with modern biometric identification technology. These new systems, which use facial recognition and other biometric technology, have already been designed and tested, and they might be fully operational within a year, according to Abdulrahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention and Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs.
The project, led by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security (ICP), complements the UAE’s larger push for digital transformation. The government is actively pursuing strategic partnerships to integrate biometric ID systems into public service platforms, thereby increasing efficiency and security.
Banking, government services, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, and hospitality are likely to rely heavily on the biometric system for secure identification. Adnan Al Hammadi, a Federal National Council member, emphasised the vital necessity for fast and reliable identity verification technologies in these businesses.
This is not the UAE’s first effort towards biometric authentication. The Emirates ID was improved in 2021 to include facial recognition, which may be accessed through the UAE Pass application. Last year, the ICP collaborated with Idemia to implement a biometric Smart Travel system at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport.
