News | ID & Secure Document News™

Francis Tuffy

29 June 2026

2 min read

Dual Approach to South Africa’s New Driving Licence

South Africa’s transport authorities are retendering for a next-generation physical driving licence card, with the stated intention of migrating the credential to a polycarbonate (PC) substrate, at the same time as introducing a digital equivalent under the MyMzansi programme.

Passports

Francis Tuffy

29 June 2026

3 min read

When Your Date of Birth is Vital

When people cross borders and claim asylum without reliable identity documents, authorities still have to make fast, important decisions, such as who is this person, what route have they taken, do they pose any risks, and are they an adult or a child?

Government

Francis Tuffy

29 June 2026

3 min read

EU Entry/Exit System – How We Got Here, and Why

In July 2025, the European Commission (EC) set a date for the start of the EU’s long-planned Entry/Exit System (EES), confirming that the system would enter into operation on 12 October 20251. That decision gave border authorities, carriers and airport operators a target date for moving from an essentially manual process (passport stamping) to an automated, biometric-backed record of short-stay travel.

Government

Francis Tuffy

29 June 2026

2 min read

Cape Verde Begins Local Production of Identity Documents

Cape Verde has begun producing national identity documents domestically, marking a significant transfer of high-security document manufacturing capability to the island state.

ID Cards

Francis Tuffy

29 June 2026

3 min read

EINSTEIN Fast-Track Corridor

Global travel volumes continue to increase, placing growing pressure on border authorities managing international border crossings at airports and seaports. When a large cruise ship arrives with thousands of passengers ready to disembark, or when multiple international flights land within a short timeframe, border crossing points can quickly experience congestion that impacts both traveller experience and operational efficiency.

Technical Features

Francis Tuffy

29 June 2026

2 min read

Mexico Introduces Redesigned INE Voter ID Card

Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE) has begun issuing its redesigned Credencial para Votar for applications processed from 1 June 2026 onward, introducing a revised card aimed at higher resistance to counterfeiting, alteration and duplication, while adding accessibility functions for users with visual impairments.

Government

Francis Tuffy

29 June 2026

3 min read

Best ID Awards 2026

The Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s High Security Printing™ (HSP) Latin America conference. This year’s event was held in Guatemala, with the awards presented at a special ceremony during the conference dinner on 2 June.

Events

Xiu Ding Chen

29 June 2026

6 min read

The Rise and Rise of the Barcode

Barcodes have long sat awkwardly in the secure document world. They are fast and cheap, but easily copyable. A barcode is printed data, making it easy to clone, reprint or alter. But the industry is rethinking what a barcode is and what it can do. Instead of just holding a reference number that points to a record in a database, the barcode increasingly carries the actual identity data plus a digital signature from the issuer, drastically increasing its security and usefulness.

Free Technical Features Free

Francis Tuffy

14 June 2026

2 min read

Singapore To Use AI And Biometrics for Identity Document Processing

Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is expanding the use of artificial intelligence and biometrics across immigration document processing and border clearance, as part of a wider move to digitise identity services. According to The Straits Times, ICA will introduce an AI tool to classify and extract data from passports and supporting documents, with the aim of reducing manual checks and speeding up applications for immigration documents such as passports, re-entry permits, APEC Business Travel Cards and short-term visit passes.

Biometrics

Francis Tuffy

9 June 2026

2 min read

Design and Innovation in ID Recognised at HSP Latin America 2026

The Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s High Security Printing (HSP) Latin America conference. This year’s event was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, with the awards presented at a special ceremony during the conference dinner on 2 June.

Event Review

Francis Tuffy

9 June 2026

2 min read

Mexico Introduces Redesigned INE Voter ID Card

Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE) has begun issuing a redesigned Credencial para Votar for applications processed from 1 June 2026 onward, introducing a revised card aimed at higher resistance to counterfeiting, alteration and duplication, while adding accessibility functions for users with visual impairments. The INE describes the update as a security and inclusion upgrade that also reinforces the credential’s role as a primary identity document.

ID Cards

Francis Tuffy

1 June 2026

2 min read

Dual Approach to South Africa’s New Driving Licence

South Africa’s transport authorities are re-tendering for a next-generation physical driving licence card, with the stated intention of migrating the credential to a polycarbonate (PC) substrate, at the same time as introducing a digital equivalent under the MyMzansi programme.

Driving Licences

Francis Tuffy

27 May 2026

4 min read

Running National ID as a Lifetime Service

The ID4Africa AGM 2026 (12-15 May) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, set out to move the conversation from deploying digital public infrastructure to the work of running national ID as a full-life system.

Event Review

Francis Tuffy

27 May 2026

4 min read

Editorial – AI Needs Regulation, Not Just Guardrails

Over the weekend of 18-19 April 2026, Beijing staged its second ‘Human and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon’. According to Reuters, more than 300 humanoid robots took part alongside, but segregated from, 12,000 humans.

Editorial

Francis Tuffy

27 May 2026

3 min read

UK Digital Update

His Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) has formally started market engagement for a new passport manufacturing and personalisation contract.

Digital Identity

Francis Tuffy

27 May 2026

3 min read

Seaborough’s LUMICRYPT Engineers Unique Luminescent Fingerprints

Security printing has always borrowed optical phenomena from physics and chemistry, and few of these phenomena are as useful as luminescence.

Technical Features

Francis Tuffy

27 May 2026

2 min read

Nano-Engineered Optics for Passport and ID Card Protection

Counterfeiters are no longer limited to simple print and overlay methods to make counterfeit security features. High-resolution imaging, better foils, and wider access to precision tooling mean that many familiar ‘tilt effects’ can be imitated well enough to pass quick, first-line checks – especially on identity cards and passport datapages where the attack is aimed at the portrait and personal data.

Free Free

Francis Tuffy

27 May 2026

4 min read

Identity Management is the Key to Age Verification

For years, online ‘age gates’ have meant a checkbox, a self-declared birthdate, or a ‘by continuing you confirm you’re over 18’. That is all about to change. Across multiple countries, regulators are now treating age-restricted access as something that must be enforceable, as well as privacy-preserving.

Technical Features

Francis Tuffy

27 May 2026

3 min read

Back on the Acquisitions Trail

2024-2025 saw some major mergers and acquisitions activity within the ID and secure document industry, with IDEMIA Group negotiating with IN Groupe for the acquisition of IDEMIA Smart Identity (September 2024), TOPPAN Holdings (via TOPPAN Gravity) agreeing to acquire HID’s Citizen Identity Solutions division from Assa Abloy (October 2024), and Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) signing to acquire a 75% stake in Rubicon SEZC (Laxton group holding company) in June 2025.

Company

Francis Tuffy

21 May 2026

2 min read

Covestro and EMPTECH Announce Partnership

German polymer manufacturer, Covestro, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China’s EMPTECH to co-develop high-security identity document solutions. The partnership targets passports, national ID cards and driving licences. According to the companies, the purpose of the partnership is to improve the fit between substrate behaviour, security-feature integration and personalisation process control.

Company

Latest News

Dual Approach to South Africa’s New Driving Licence

When Your Date of Birth is Vital

EU Entry/Exit System – How We Got Here, and Why

Cape Verde Begins Local Production of Identity Documents

EINSTEIN Fast-Track Corridor

Mexico Introduces Redesigned INE Voter ID Card

Best ID Awards 2026

The Rise and Rise of the Barcode

Singapore To Use AI And Biometrics for Identity Document Processing

Design and Innovation in ID Recognised at HSP Latin America 2026

Mexico Introduces Redesigned INE Voter ID Card

Dual Approach to South Africa’s New Driving Licence

Running National ID as a Lifetime Service

Editorial – AI Needs Regulation, Not Just Guardrails

UK Digital Update

Seaborough’s LUMICRYPT Engineers Unique Luminescent Fingerprints

Nano-Engineered Optics for Passport and ID Card Protection

Identity Management is the Key to Age Verification

Back on the Acquisitions Trail

Covestro and EMPTECH Announce Partnership

Sign Up to ID & Secure Document News™ Weekly

You're signed up!