Makrofol® ID is a preferred material for security IDs

Source: Giesecke & Devrient

The personal information stored on a chip on the new ID card is inaccessible to unauthorized parties. Although a person can be identified with absolute certainty from this data, reproducing the fingerprint, for example, is totally impossible. Residents and public agencies benefit equally from high-level security, quick and easy identification, high reliability and a long service life. Reader terminals for rapid identity verification are being set up at border crossings and in public buildings, and are also being used as mobile units by the police. Moreover, the process of issuing the cards in Macao takes only about twelve working days and is thus significantly faster than for conventional IDs.
The national ID card is also equipped with a personal certificate as a prerequisite for the electronic signature, which citizens can use in the future to identify themselves on the Internet and conclude legally binding contracts. Thanks to these possibilities, the Macao government can now reach its e-government goals. A special Internet portal is to be established as a central point of contact for e-government services, where it will eventually be possible to electronically submit official applications, tax returns, etc.
The use of forgery-proof identity cards made of Makrofol® ID began eight years ago with the introduction of the Swiss identity card and the German driver's license in the format required by the European Union. Today, such cards are in use or under development in a number of countries.
Should governments decide in favor of new ID card solutions, disposal of the cards would be no problem. Because the card material is of a single grade – the percentage of printing ink and other foreign substances is negligible – it can easily be recycled and put to other uses, such as in injection molding compounds.

Leverkusen, 2004-02-19