Identity, Security, Payments, Biometrics, Smart Cards and Authentication News

UK city says no to biometrics

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Unison, a union for Westminster City Council workers, has told the council to boycott the use of biometric time clocks to replace standard punch card clocks due to a lack of consultation prior to their installation as well as union members being suspicious over the council’s ability to properly safeguard the data, according to a Public Service article.

Dean Ingledew, Westminster’s director of community protection, is hoping the city will have the technology up and running soon as it is expected to help alert proper people if someone working alone at night goes missing. Unison, however, refutes that statement as they say no one in the union works alone. Additionally, Unison refutes the claim that the biometric systems will be used for access control as none of the units have been installed at doors as of yet, only within offices. [end] 

While the Jakarta Population and Civil Registry Office had planned to register all of the city’s citizens in its e-ID program by the end of April, it has moved that deadline for a second time due to people still waiting for their identification cards, reports the Jakarta Globe.

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The Invercargill City Council announced it will equip its passenger transport buses with new electronic ticketing machines in the hope that it leads to the introduction a new smart transit card system, according to The Southland Times.

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The City of Ottawa is doing everything it can to get OC Transpo riders on board with the new smart card technology, which is set to launch later this summer, according to OttawaStart.

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The Marseille Tourist Office & Convention Bureau (OTCM) has launched a mobile city-pass that enables visitors to to take public transportation, access museums and city attractions and redeem discounts at local stores with a tap of an NFC-enabled handset.

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First Data Corporation has partnered up with the Krakow Transportation and Infrastructure Authority and City Parking Group for the introduction of parking meters equipped with contactless payments functionality in the city of Krakow, Poland.

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BIO-key International announced that it has partnered with fellow biometrics developer Fulcrum Biometrics to bring a new mobile solution to the City Clerk’s Office in Sacramento, Calif.

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