Citizens of Pakistan can now apply for a national ID card using a mobile app that enables them to scan the documents needed to support their application and verify their identity with their fingerprint and a photograph of their face from their smartphone.
The Pak-ID mobile app is available for both Android and iOS devices and has been launched by Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to allow Pakistani citizens — including those living abroad — to complete their application remotely and without needing to visit a registration office.
“The mobile application is for the existing users of NADRA’s Pak-ID Portal to conveniently capture biometrics and documents using [their] smartphone camera. Photograph, fingerprints and documents can be captured against an application initiated on Pak-ID portal,” NADRA explains.
The app also enables users to pay their application fee online and arrange for home delivery of a physical ID card.
“The innovation will revolutionise the national ID ecosystem in Pakistan by providing public convenience,” local media outlet Dawn News reports NADRA’s Tariq Malik as saying at the app’s official launch.
“He said the digital dividends of such technology innovation would yield positive results in financial inclusion, ease of doing business and e-governance initiatives by offering remote identification and e-KYC [know-your-customer].
“The NADRA chairman said that it would open new vistas for businesses, allowing them to rapidly onboard users and provide modern password-less authentication.”
Pakistan lets citizens apply for national IDs from their smartphone was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.