In this round up of recent new secure document issues, we record new card designs for the US states of Arizona and Virginia, and the new Swiss driving licence.

The US administration released a three-part proposal on 2 March asking Congress for $1.6 billion to help provide federal agencies and local governments with more funding to handle pandemic-related fraud claims, modernise identity verification systems, and support victims of identity theft.

At a time when automated document checks and ID-proofing processes are becoming more and more widespread, the physical credential remains extremely important in securely establishing and underpinning a person’s identity.

Without question, the most significant recent event that impacted everyone around the world was the COVID-19 pandemic. Literally overnight, the way we worked, interacted, transacted, and proved our identities changed.

A review of this year's headlines.

The APEX Board of Governors recently met at the APEX/IFSA EXPO in Long Beach, California to discuss the future of the airline passenger experience, and they had a lot to say about biometric identity.

A new report from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Human Technology Institute outlines a model law for facial recognition technology to protect against harmful use of the technology, but also foster innovation for public benefit.

The misuse of personal data is seen as a potential drag on the growth of the ID and secure document sector. But who do people feel they can trust more to protect their ID data – government or the private sector?

Currently, there are around 280 local authorities setting distinct rules, processes and fees for motorists wanting to obtain a taxi licence in the UK. But industry experts are now calling for plans to harmonise the procedures in line with the principles of ‘fill it out once’.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a US government lab that publishes standards for government agencies to safely use cryptography, has just announced the winners of a six-year-long competition to create quantum-safe algorithms.