NXP powers new contactless ID Card for Indonesia’s growing population of overseas workers

NXP, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, has announced that it supplies SmartMX chips to Pura Smart Technology, the smartcard manufacturing division of PT. Pura Barutama. Pura’s smartcards have been chosen as the Indonesian Overseas Worker’s Identification Card by the Republic of Indonesia’s newly formed National Board for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI). With an increasing number of Indonesians traveling overseas for employment, the ID card promises a secure means of verifying identity when requesting a variety of government services.

The Indonesian government expects to issue 370,000 of these ID cards, offering a high level of physical security thanks to features such as guilloche, rosette, microlettering, invisible ink, demetalized hologram and filter image technology. Each secure contactless SmartMX chip embedded in the ID card has an onboard memory of 36K, allowing details of the cardholder’s identity to be stored and retrieved securely when required. This information may include biographic data, biometric data such as face image and fingerprint templates, employment information, medical records, insurance status and bank account data. As the ID card becomes more widely used, it may also be used for debit and credit bank transactions.

As the agency responsible for its citizen’s welfare while working overseas, BNP2TKI has two objectives for this new ID card. First, it hopes the card will streamline embarkation, disembarkation and work permit extension services, in addition to enabling banking, medical and insurance services in the near future. Second, the agency aims to offer workers a tamper-proof card that complements the holder’s passport, allowing them to carry an alternative form of ID at all times while overseas.

Commenting on the rollout of the Worker’s ID Card in Indonesia, Mr. Jumhur Hidayat, chairman of BNP2TKI, said, “We are pleased to offer our citizens a highly secure and effective form of identification. With this ID card we will be able to provide better and more convenient services to our people working overseas without compromising their security.”

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