Spain: Private firms slow on uptake of e-ID cards

A total of EUR 314mn (US$ 460.94mn) has been invested by the Spanish State in the roll out of electronic national identity cards (e-ID cards) in the country but the private sector has remained skeptical about its implementation. At the end of 2008, a total of 6mn Spaniards will have been issued with the new card but private firms have been slow on the uptake. Caja Madrid has said that 700 ATMs will be adapted by March 2008 so that they can use the new cards to communicate with the bank, arrange loans and access Tax Office information. Modifying its 4,800 cash machines and 40,000 point of sale terminals will cost EUR 2.2mn (US$ 3.23mn). 
There are less than ten banks that have followed suit, with Banc Sabadell, Caja Granada and Kutxa being among the few who have put in place services using the e-ID cards (mainly to do with online banking which requires the user to have an appropriate card reader and software). Toshiba is piloting a digital printer which works using an e-ID card which is useful for printing confidential and sensitive information as the printout only appears when the card is swiped on the printer. 
However, some of the obstacles facing private firms in allowing the use of e-ID cards include the fact that they will not be universal as residents from other nationalities will not be issued them yet and the way in which e-ID cards are checked mean thousands of validations are needed a minute, something which cannot be managed at present. Additionally, there are calls being made for a consumer awareness campaign relating to how the e-ID card works and its benefits.