The Sooner, The Better: Putin on the Implementation of Digital Identification Cards in Smartphones

The Russian Ministry of Digital Transformation, alongside the FSB, is set to present a draft decision to the Russian government by May 1 that will allow the use of digital identification cards on smartphones instead of passports in a number of daily situations. This proposal has received the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported by Interfax.

“Please, the sooner, the better (...) Of course, such services are in high demand, and you just need to accelerate their implementation. Please prepare these projects,” Putin stated during a meeting with government members, responding to a suggestion from Minister of Digital Transformation Maksut Shadaev.

“We wanted to ask you to issue an order that will establish the possible cases where such an identification card on a smartphone can be used as a substitute for a passport (...) The decision will allow us to legalize this technology together with the FSB and other interested agencies by May 1,” Shadaev said.

According to the minister, there will be few instances where the digital identification document can be used instead of a passport, emphasizing, “We are not invalidating the passport.” He noted that a similar technology has already been agreed upon with the FSB. In this case, the owner's verification is carried out according to the photograph registered in the biometric passport chip.

“We did the same within the framework of the Mobile Application for Public Services (...) We developed this technology, and it works very simply: you upload a photo from your biometric passport directly to your smartphone, and then a QR code is created that you present. Those who wish to verify your credentials, accordingly through the Mobile Application for Public Services, can also check your age, surname, name, and patronymic,” Shadaev explained.

He added that the use of such an identification card should allow for “80 percent of cases in everyday, straightforward situations” to use a smartphone instead of the original passport. This technology has also already been coordinated with the FSB, the minister noted.