Company News

SICPA Partners with IATA to Improve Travel Experience

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), in partnership with SICPA and other industry partners, has created an improved travel experience using digital identity, streamlining the process from booking a flight to border crossing at arrival (see IDN September 2023).

The solution was successfully tested on a journey from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino with British Airways and was presented at the recent IATA World Passenger Symposium in Chicago.

The London to Rome journey serves as a proof of concept (PoC) of a project that has been incubating in the IATA Innovation Lab since 2022, where SICPA provided technology for the creation and issuance of verifiable credentials through its digital identity platform, as part of a wider IATA project called ‘Identity Management in Distribution’.

Other PoC industry partners include Accenture, Australian Border Force, AWS, British Airways, IDnow and Verchaska. ‘This strategic collaboration shows our strong dedication for innovation, and for pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the aviation and travel industry. It underpins our commitment to a future travel experience that is digital, efficient, biometrically secured, and leverages a digital identity approach,’ said Catherine Fankhauser, Head of Market Segment – Identity, at SICPA.

One of the key aspects demonstrated in the PoC is that passengers can create a secure digital version of their passport in a few simple steps: scanning their passport with a mobile device and verifying identity through a biometric liveness check.

IN Groupe Acquires eID Business from Nexi

Nexi has entered into an agreement with French IN Groupe to take over its eID business. This acquisition is in line with the strategy of both groups: to reinforce IN Groupe’s role as European leader in digital identity, and further strengthen the position of Nexi as the leading European PayTech.

‘As a provider of trusted digital infrastructures, we understand how critical it is to deliver stable, resilient, and secure services. Combining Nexi’s eID capabilities with our own will enhance our ability to support our customers throughout Europe as they have to embrace new regulations rapidly coming into play such as eIDASv2 and NIS2,’ said Didier Trutt, Chairman and CEO of IN Groupe.

‘Our main objective was to find a future owner that will maintain and develop our eID solutions to the same high standards we have applied. In IN Groupe, we could not have found a better home for our eID business, and our customers and citizens can expect a provider of critical digital infrastructure who – better than us – can continue to develop the solutions to the benefit of its clients,’ added Torsten Hagen Jørgensen, Global Head of Issuing Solutions at Nexi, which is based in Ballerup, Denmark.

The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and the authorisation of the Danish government on the suitability and capabilities of IN Groupe as their continued eID solution provider.

HID Opens New Logistics Centre in Ireland

HID has opened its second largest logistics centre, in Shannon, Ireland, supporting 55 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

HID is an ASSA ABLOY Group brand and has over 4,500 employees worldwide, operating international offices that support more than 100 countries. The opening of the new centre was marked with an official ribbon-cutting and a visit from local government and business leaders, as well as HID’s operations leadership team. The new 4,157m2 centre is double the size of HID’s previous facility and employs 60 people, with a goal of expanding headcount in the years to come.

‘The new logistics centre is strategic in sustaining the global growth HID has experienced, and it demonstrates our commitment to fostering innovation and product availability across the region,’ said Josh Freeman, HID’s Senior Vice President and Head of Operations.

‘Congratulations to HID on the opening of their new logistics centre in Shannon. Since 2006 HID’s growth and expansion here in Ireland is truly a great success story, and the new centre will allow for an even better service to their European customers,’ said Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Dara Calleary.

HID first established itself in the country in Tully, County Galway in 2006. The company is best known in Ireland for providing the enabling technology for Ireland’s revolutionary passport card programme, which was the first of its kind to allow travellers to cross borders in Europe with an electronic passport card rather than a traditional passport booklet.

In 2022, HID opened an award-winning Centre of Excellence in Galway city, employing about 500 people.

TOPPAN Gravity Acquires Hogier Gartner

TOPPAN Gravity, a TOPPAN company and UAE-based global secure solutions provider, has announced its recent acquisition of Hogier Gartner & Cía, a prominent company in identity and other types of card production, based in Colombia.

According to TOPPAN Gravity, the acquisition of Hogier Gartner marks a significant moment in its global expansion strategy, driven by the thriving card market in Latin America. Based on a market study, it is expected that the percentage of cards distributed in Latin America will grow by 67% from 2022 to 20251. These findings emphasise the strong and consistently growing card market within the region.

Hogier Gartner, founded in 1953, has a long history in the card manufacturing industry, spanning several decades.

Over the years, it has established itself as a trusted partner for businesses in Colombia and beyond, delivering a wide range of printing solutions, including the production and personalisation of all kinds of smart cards, ranging from bank and transportation cards to identification cards.

Commenting on the acquisition, Alvaro Gartner, CEO of Hogier Gartner, said: ‘we are thrilled to embark on this new journey with TOPPAN Gravity. This collaboration not only reinforces our dedication to providing top-notch card manufacturing and printing solutions but also unlocks doors to new horizons and opportunities for innovation’.

The recently acquired company will be renamed TOPPAN Hogier.

1 - Juniper Research | Payment Card Technologies 2022-2026