Makrofol® ID

The all-in-one card

World's first multifunctional chip identity card introduced in Macao. The credit card size smart ID is based on a multilayer system of Makrofol® ID.

IDs, driver's licenses and health insurance cards serve to verify a person's identity. While verification must be unequivocal, the cardholder's stored personal data - which today can include a photo as well as fingerprints and other biometric data - must also be protected against unauthorized access. The verification process has to be fast, because no one wants to wait in long lines. But the list of requirements doesn't end there; governments and public agencies are increasingly demanding cards that not only offer the original identification function, but also can be used as driver's licenses or electronic purses, for example.
The rollout of the world's first multifunctional chip card meeting these added requirements began in Macao last year. Over the next few years, roughly half a million residents of the Special Administrative Region will be issued one of these smart national ID cards, which will later also be used as a driver's license, health insurance and social security card, student ID and electronic purse. Manufactured by the international technology group Giesecke & Devrient, the identity cards are based on a multilayer system of Makrofol® ID special films from Bayer MaterialScience AG, a subgroup of Bayer AG.
"Makrofol® ID special film can be given a high-contrast laser inscription, such as a photo of the cardholder, and is ideally suited to multilayer designs. Such cards can include up to fifteen security features as protection against unauthorized access, duplication and forgery. In addition to its suitability for personalization with a laser and long service life, the material's very high long-term flexural strength and heat resistance of
130 °C are also worthy of mention. These properties make Makrofol® ID a preferred material for security IDs, which must be highly forgery-proof and require sophisticated manufacturing know-how," explains Cengiz Yesildag, identity card specialist in Film Marketing at Bayer MaterialScience AG.