Learning Lessons from the Physical to Digital Evolution of Visa Stickers

In my previous roles within security print-related companies, all the way to my current editorial duties, I’ve witnessed many shifting patterns in the landscape of identity and secure documents.

In this editorial, I aim to build on the themes I presented at the recent High Security Printing™ EMEA conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, during my paper ‘The Inexorable Demise of Physical Visa Stickers – Should We Be Worried?’ to explore what we can learn from the physical to digital evolution of visa stickers.

Let’s start with a fictional lesson in virtual identity drawn from the pages of the classic thriller ‘The Day of the Jackal’. While not giving too much away about the novel’s intricate plot, it serves as a poignant reminder of a time when physical documentation, such as hotel registration cards, played a pivotal role in identity verification. Nowadays, most hotels have transitioned to digital registration systems where guests provide their information electronically, either during the online booking process or upon arrival at the hotel.