Nigeria’s government has announced plans to introduce a new versatile national identity card for its citizens.
The new cards will include identification and payment capabilities for an array of social and financial services.
The new card is a collaboration between the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
The new identity card powered by AfriGO – a national domestic card scheme established under the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007, will become the primary identification means in Nigeria, boasting features of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards – a machine-readable zone compliant with ICAO standards for e-passport information.
NIMC says beyond serving as a means of identification, the card will grant holders access to a wide range of government and private social services as a foundation to financial inclusion and empowering all citizens to actively participate in national development.
A key feature of the card is that it has dual purpose, serving both as identification and linked to citizens bank accounts, effectively turning it into a debit or prepaid card. This will bring citizens previously outside formal banking and financial systems to gain access.
NIMC also reassured about data protection, ensuring that cardholders’ information remains safeguarded by international data security standards.
The card will contain other array of information including health insurance information, access to micro-loans, agriculture support, food stamps, transport and energy subsidies – if any, all encoded onto the cards.
The card can be used offline, so it can be used even in areas with limited network coverage.
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