Government-appointed Central District Social Services Consultative Council Deputy Convener Ao Ieong Kwong Kao quoted officials of the Identification Services Bureau (DSI) as saying that a combination of the iris recognition system technology and e-ID certificate could be used as an immigration clearance method in the future.
However, Ao Ieong underlined that there the system is still in the second phase of testing, and there is no timetable for the third stage of testing.
Ao Ieong made the remarks during a press briefing after the government-appointed council’s closed-door meeting with a DSI official and a Public Security Police (PSP) officer at the Patane Activity Centre yesterday, adding that 225,000 residents, including about 28,000 senior citizens had started using their e-ID certificate in the “Macao One Account” mobile app.
The e-ID certificate service provided by the “Macao One Account” mobile app was launched on June 30.
Fellow committee member Tam Chan Lam quoted the PSP officer as saying during the meeting that the first phase of iris biometric clearance tests and stress tests on the checkpoints’ identification check system had been completed. The officer also said, according to Tam, that the identification check system has been optimised and modified.
Tam pointed out that currently a total of six border checkpoints in Macau have been equipped with the hardware, adding that in the next phase, DSI will invite residents aged 18 or above to undergo iris data collection and immigration clearance tests as preparation for the next phase of universal access to electronic border crossing services for Macau residents.
Tam also noted that iris biometric identification technology is safer and more accurate than checking fingerprints. However, Tam pointed out, iris biometric identification technology has higher requirements for users, such as not wearing coloured glasses and cosmetic contact lenses when going through checkpoints using biometric identification technology.
Government-appointed Central District Social Services Consultative Council Deputy Convener Ao Ieong Kwong Kao (right) and fellow council member Tam Chan Lam pose for a press briefing after the government-appointed committee’s closed-door meeting at the Patane Activity Centre yesterday.
– Photo: Ginnie Liang
