Gemalto lands SA’s ID card contract

Gemalto, a digital security company, will supply the Government Printing Works (GPW) of South Africa with Sealys eID cards for their national identity program.

GPW will harness Gemalto’s secure embedded software to protect the holder’s image and biometric data within the secure identity e-document, delivering high levels of integrity and privacy. Moreover, GPW selected the high-end Sealys document fitted with the contactless feature, ensuring added levels of convenience.

Designed to modernize and replace South Africa’s traditional, paper-based ‚’green book’ identity documentation, the new Sealys eID card will be offered by the Department for Home Affairs (DHA) to citizens aged 16 and over. The South African government embarked on this service program to improve confidence in official identity credentials and to prepare for the deployment of a comprehensive suite of efficient and convenient eGovernment services.

Leveraging experience that already includes participation to over 80 national programs worldwide, Gemalto is providing GPW with an advanced and highly durable polycarbonate eID card specifically designed to counter forgery. Furthermore, the Sealy eID supports public key infrastructure (PKI) and match-on-card authentication techniques to enable easy verification of authenticity and a future-proof platform capable of providing a broad range of secure online services such as online and in-person authentication as well as legally binding digital signatures.

‚”Our local presence in Johannesburg provides a key benefit in ensuring a strategic partnership with the GPW,‚” said Ari Bouzbib, Senior Vice President of Government Programs at Gemalto. ‚”This new project marks another significant acceleration in the momentum behind eGovernment initiatives on the continent, where Gemalto has already deployed a number of major programs.‚”

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