Latvian software developer X Infotech has won a tender to develop a technical solution for collecting e-residents’ biometric data using mobile devices, announced the Estonian Ministry of the Interior’s Information Technology and Development Centre (SMIT).
Starting from 2027, the application under development will allow e-residency applicants to securely confirm their identity using a smartphone app.
Submitting biometric data via a mobile application will make the e-residency application process more convenient and faster, and it is a prerequisite for ultimately fully replacing the current physical card, which serves as the e-resident’s digital identity, with a mobile solution. The solution being developed must also comply with the strict security requirements of the European Union’s eIDAS regulation, ensuring that the e-resident’s digital identity can still be used for authentication and for providing electronic signatures that are equivalent to physical signatures.
Einārs Leps, Business Development Director at X Infotech, explains that this project uses next-generation biometric solutions with advanced algorithms and mobile technologies, including fingerprint reading with a phone camera. This makes it possible to securely confirm one’s identity from anywhere in the world. X Infotech is proud that Estonia, a global leader in digital innovation, has chosen a Latvian company to implement this modern solution.
According to Kaija Kirča, Head of the Identity Services Department at SMIT, the procurement process was complex and time-consuming. “Since this was the first time we were procuring such a solution, we used a competitive dialogue to find the best supplier,” she said. “The competitive dialogue allowed us to negotiate with the candidates and test their demo applications against our requirements. What makes the procured service unique is that document authenticity and validity checks, photo capture and fingerprint collection all have to be carried out within a single solution. Individually, these components are already used in many private-sector services, but none of them meets the requirements of the eIDAS regulation,” Kirča noted.
SMIT announced the tender last autumn, and bidders were tasked with developing a mobile application to verify the authenticity of an e-residency applicant’s identity document and to provide for the collection of biometric data (facial image and fingerprints. The contractual partner was selected through a competitive dialogue in order to test and evaluate potential solutions before making a decision. The procurement invited companies with prior experience in developing similar solutions and providing such services. In total, 12 companies submitted applications. The winner of the procurement, X Infotech from Riga, was selected based on points awarded for the quality of the demo applications and the prices offered.
A framework agreement will be signed with the winner of the procurement for a period of 48 months. The maximum value of the framework agreement is 3 million euros.
So far, more than 133,000 people from 185 countries have become Estonian e-residents. Currently, more than 63,000 e-resident digital ID cards are in circulation, each valid for 5 years. The total direct economic contribution of the e-residency programme to the Estonian state has been 388 million euros.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/biometrisko-datu-iegusanas-risinajumu-igaunijas-e-rezidentiem-izstradas-latvijas-uznemums/
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