A Middle Eastern government has chosen Bell ID's card and application management system, ANDiS, to manage passport data in a combined e-ID and e-Passport database.

Choosing a card, application and key management system (CAMS), provides governments with the opportunity to implement a solution that can adapt to the fast changing chip technology market, to manage chips in a plastic card, passport booklet or other format in a single integrated platform.

Bell ID's ANDiS CAMS system has been implemented in many prestigious, high volume and high security projects worldwide. It is used by a number of governments for National ID, Military ID, e-Health Cards and now also passport projects. In the payments industry, the same core platform supports numerous large issuers of multiple millions of credit and debit cards, both simple single application devices and more complex multi application systems.

The ANDiS CAMS supports post-issuance personalisation which allows future applications to be loaded on to an e-Passport. These applications, such as electronic visas, can be managed efficiently by the system without re-issuance of the document.

As security requirements are amended during the life of a passport the ANDiS system can be used to increase the security of the document by uploading longer or more secure cryptographic keys to the integrated chip. This may avoid the re-issuance of large numbers of documents in the event of a security threat, which could lead to considerable cost savings and significantly minimized disruption.

The ability of the ANDiS system to manage both the ID card and Passport on a single integrated platform was a significant factor in Bell ID's selection for this project.

"We are very pleased to see governments adopting a more sophisticated approach for their ICAO e-Passport issuance and including future proof solutions. Governments are coming to realise that the additional benefit of having microprocessors on passports comes with a requirement to manage this new technology. Bell ID is excited to be part of this technology shift and excited by the potential of the ICAO e-Passport market for Bell ID" says Igno Peters, managing director, Bell ID.