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MasterCard-Branded National eID Card Launched in Nigeria

zdnet.com

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Re: MasterCard-Branded National eID Card Launched in Nigeria

#2
While this is a bit strange when issued as a government ID, the cards seem familiar to me: In Norway, pretty much all debit cards - including ones with VISA and Mastercard - have picture ids on the back that are valid in most instances a formal government id would be, and it's the primary id document for a substantial percentage of people.

It caused a few amusing episodes when I first moved to the UK and still had my Norwegian accounts, when shop clerks would look at me with a puzzled look, wondering why in the world I tried paying with an id card - until I pointed out the VISA logo.

Re: MasterCard-Branded National eID Card Launched in Nigeria

#3
So MasterCard have in one swoop pretty much monopolised the entire payments industry of an entire country? Helping the unbanked is probably a good thing (probably) but I wonder how expensive these cards will be, or will become.

I personally would hate the idea of having a "Mastercard" branded ID card or passport here in the UK. Maybe in Nigeria it's the lesser of two evils, perhaps not.

Re: MasterCard-Branded National eID Card Launched in Nigeria

#4
A bunch of college campuses (including where my ex went, pace university school of law) had College ID cards that were also mastercards.

They also forced you to activate them (she asked repeatedly if she could avoid them), so you could not just disable the credit card functionality.

What mastercard has done here seems the logical next step.

At pace, this was called the "pace onecard".

Re: MasterCard-Branded National eID Card Launched in Nigeria

#5
Back in the nineties, when Java was still the next big thing, manufacturers promised that we would carry a single Java smartcard for all applications: identification, credit cards, electronic wallets, etc.

As we now know this never happened. The biggest reason is marketing: every company wants to have their own logo on the card, which is impossible to do with a generic card.

Reference from 1998: ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/software/pervasive/info/javacard.pdf

Re: MasterCard-Branded National eID Card Launched in Nigeria

#7
post #6

Well, I for one can't see any issues with an entire country of poorly educated people being given a card that with a flip of a switch, introduce them to the crippling force of 25.5% compound interest. I wish I had no morals, making money would be so easy.

It's not a credit card.

Re: MasterCard-Branded National eID Card Launched in Nigeria

#8
More info:

"The new cards carry two photographs of the holder, and a chip storing an individual's biometric information including 10 fingerprints and an iris scan using a system developed by Cryptovision." [0]

[0] http://www.zdnet.com/nigeria-launches-new-biometric-id-card-...

Re: MasterCard-Branded National eID Card Launched in Nigeria

#9
post #7
post #6

Well, I for one can't see any issues with an entire country of poorly educated people being given a card that with a flip of a switch, introduce them to the crippling force of 25.5% compound interest. I wish I had no morals, making money would be so easy.

It's not a credit card.

It will function as a debit card.
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