New Greek ID Cards Set to Streamline Travel for EU Tourists  

Greece will require its new national identity cards for EU travel starting in August 2026, replacing the older cards long used by Greek citizens within the European Union. The new cards are designed to EU standards and focus on card-level security and functionality, incorporating biometric data (digital photo and fingerprints), encrypted personal information and a unique ID number to reduce fraud and speed border checks. While existing cards remain valid until the deadline, Greek travelers must transition to the new format to continue card-based travel within the Schengen Area, where the upgraded cards are expected to enable faster, more secure and more standardized border control without changing the broader requirement that passports remain necessary for non-EU travel.  

Sudani Chairs Meeting on Unified National ID 

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani chaired a meeting on advancing the unified national ID card project, focusing on its governance and integration with the housing card to create a single, central system for managing citizens’ personal data. The plan calls for incorporating housing card information directly into the national ID card, eliminating the need for separate documents and expanding the card’s electronic system to support additional services such as updating housing details, marital status changes and registry requests. Officials also discussed supporting the system with electronic applications used across all state institutions, while accelerating project completion, modernizing ID offices nationwide and upgrading infrastructure and technology to reduce bureaucracy and ease the burden on citizens. 

Are Card Readers in for Weddings?  

A growing wedding trend features couples using contactless card readers  at their receptions to collect contributions to honeymoon funds. Guests can tap a card or phone to give instantly, supported by platforms like Lopay that enable seamless, fast deposits. This modern approach complements traditional registries, which now often include cash, experience and home-related funds, giving guests multiple convenient ways to celebrate and support the couple. 

Montana Releases New Design for Drivers Licenses, ID Card  

Montana has introduced newly redesigned driver’s licenses that state officials say are among the most secure in the nation, featuring advanced materials and anti-counterfeiting elements along with icons indicating citizenship, Real ID status and organ donor designation, while all existing licenses will remain valid until they expire. 

Burkina Faso Adopts the AES Biometric Identity Card  

Burkina Faso has approved a new AES biometric identity card—part of a broader regional initiative with Mali and Niger—to modernize identification, enhance security and support regional integration; the highly secure, internationally compliant card will be issued to citizens aged five and older, remain valid for 10 years and replace the current ID over a five-year transition period, improving access to public services, strengthening data reliability and facilitating movement and cooperation across the Sahel. 

Global Biometric Smart Card Market Projected to Reach Market Size of $88.2B by 2030  

The global biometric smart card market, valued at $33.1 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $88.2 billion by 2030 at a 17.76% CAGR, is expanding rapidly due to increasing demand for secure authentication across government, financial and commercial sectors—accelerated further by COVID-19’s push toward contactless verification—with long-term growth driven by enhanced security needs, short-term momentum from digital payments and e-governance, major opportunities in emerging economies and trends toward multi-factor authentication, broader application versatility and advanced biometric integration, while government ID programs currently dominate adoption, payments emerge as the fastest-growing use case, healthcare leads growth among end users, North America remains the largest regional market and Asia-Pacific grows fastest amid digitization, supported by industry moves toward dual-interface cards, sophisticated biometrics and partnerships with financial institutions. 

Greater Anglia to Launch Contactless Travel by 2026  

Starting December 14, 2025, contactless pay-as-you-go technology will roll out to 30 additional Southeastern National Rail stations—allowing passengers to tap in and out with bank cards, smartphones or smartwatches—and will expand further in 2026 to 20 Greater Anglia stations, including major airports, marking a major step toward a fully modernized UK rail system where travelers increasingly rely on contactless cards instead of paper tickets for seamless, capped-fare journeys. 

Nigeria Launches Ecowas National Biometric ID Card  

Nigeria has launched the Ecowas National Biometric ID Card (ENBIC) after 11 years of development, marking a major step toward stronger regional security, migration management and digital inclusion. The biometric ID—part of an ECOWAS initiative dating back to 2014—is designed to enhance secure identification, streamline travel across West Africa, support regional trade and bolster efforts against cross-border crime and irregular migration, following the opening of an ENBIC Center in Abuja last year. 

Federal Bank Enables Biometric Verification for E-commerce Payments  

Federal Bank has introduced biometric authentication for its debit and credit cardholders making e-commerce purchases, enabling customers to confirm transactions with facial or fingerprint recognition instead of OTPs. Developed with M2P and MinkasuPay, the system shortens verification to just a few seconds, works on supported Android and iOS devices, and includes OTP fallback to meet RBI two-factor authentication rules. Initially available with select merchants, the feature will expand gradually, with merchants able to integrate it through a lightweight SDK. 

Bank of Ireland Customers Continue Adopting Contactless Payment Methods as ATM Usage Dips  

Bank of Ireland data for Q3 2025 shows continued growth in card-based contactless payments, with eCommerce contactless card transactions up 6% and in-person “tap and go” card payments up 4% year-on-year, boosted by major events in Dublin. Peak days saw 1.7 million tap-and-go payments and over 870,000 eCommerce contactless card transactions. As card-based digital payments rise, ATM usage dropped 9%, continuing its decline. The shift reflects customers’ increasing preference for fast, secure card and wallet-based payments supported by broader digital-banking adoption. 

BlueOrange Bank Deploys Latvia’s First Contactless Card ATMs  

BS/2 has deployed Latvia’s first ATMs supporting contactless card transactions, installing five Diebold Nixdorf machines for BlueOrange Bank in Riga. The new ATMs allow cardholders to perform key functions—cash withdrawal and deposit, balance inquiries and recent transaction reports—without inserting their cards. BlueOrange selected BS/2 for its experience and technical support, positioning the rollout as one of the most advanced ATM solutions in Latvia.