2,577 ID card readers distributed to UAE organizations last year

The Emirates Identity Authority unveiled that 2,577 ID card readers were distributed to tens of federal and local government entities across the UAE in 2011.

The Emirates Identity Authority said the distribution of these readers came as part of its keenness on supporting the UAE government organizations and enabling them to deal with ID cards easily and smoothly and read the contents of the electronic chips in these cards within a few seconds, thereby fulfilling the Emirates Identity Authority’s vision of rendering the ID card the most valuable card in the UAE.

In a press release issued in the Al Ittihad newspaper, the Emirates Identity Authority said the electronic reader project contributed to reducing the time required for completing transactions in many of the organizations that adopted the ID card over the recent years.

As many as162 electronic readers were distributed to 4 government entities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in last January, the Emirates Identity Authority said, adding that 120 readers were delivered to Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, 20 to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai, 12 to Sharjah Directorate of Town Planning and Survey and 10 to Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department.

The Emirates Identity Authority affirmed that it would keep exerting efforts to develop a package of integrated programs that deal with the ID card in several programming languages compatible with different types of smart card readers. The Emirates Identity Authority pointed out that demand on ID card readers was on the rise under the increasing number of government entities and organizations adopting the ID card in their transactions which exceeded 150 so far.

The Emirates Identity Authority expressed its readiness to provide ID card readers to all the UAE organizations, which are looking forward to providing innovated services by taking advantage of the ID card features, simultaneously with the forthcoming completed registration of most of the UAE population in the ID card and the completion of the population register in line with the Emirates Identity Authority’s strategic plan 2010-2013.

It is worthwhile that the use of ID cards in Dubai Courts, which is one of the early UAE organizations to adopt the ID card and use the ID card reader, helped reduce the time of personal status procedures by 75 percent.