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NXP inks Egypt deal
The Egyptian government has selected NXP’s SmartMX contact security chip to power its welfare scheme’s Family Card.
The welfare scheme, which offers subsidies on goods such as food to low-income families, is run by the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Ministry of Administrative Development. The two government departments are working with card manufacturer Misr Security Systems to introduce the smart card technology behind the system.
NXP says its SmartMX security chip is used in hundreds of millions of eGovernment applications such as health cards, ePassports and ID cards.
“There is a definite trend toward governments turning to technology to enable them to deliver national services,” says Günter Schlatte, general manager, eGovernment, NXP Semiconductors. “With millions of SmartMX chips already in circulation, smart card technology is powering some of the most signification forms of electronic documentation such as national ID cards, health cards and even voting cards.”
“Previous [welfare] schemes were paper-based systems and not as efficient,” says the chairman of Misr Security Systems. The new Family Card will enable users to easily verify their eligibility for the scheme at the point-of-sale, and enable retailers to quickly claim the funds back from the government.”
Started in 2005 in the Suez region, the Family Card scheme was designed to offer low-income families financial support when purchasing basic foodstuffs such as rice and sugar. To support families regardless of geographical location, the infrastructure supporting the Family Card, consisting of cards, point of sale units and the related applications designed by Misr Security Systems, has been rolled out throughout the entire country to ensure access to subsidies in both rural and urban areas. The government is planning to roll-out the scheme to 10 million households in Egypt eventually.