IN Groupe is proud to launch Photometrix™, a Surys branded solution, that allows verifying offline the portrait printed on a card with a simple smartphone. The solution, adopted in Togo, sets up an example for all countries needing to add security to their healthcare card program while allowing scalability and ease of use.
The Covid crisis has led many governments worldwide to reorganise their healthcare systems in order to reinforce their services to their citizens. However, these programs may be subject to ID fraud, leading healthcare departments to look for a secure, yet budget efficient, solution. IN Groupe is now announcing a new deployment of Photometrix™, a Surys branded solution, which significantly increases the security level of healthcare cards, while keeping issuance and infrastructure costs under control.
Governments need a trusted identity system for their healthcare needs: they not only have to ensure beneficiaries receive the healthcare services they are entitled to, but also to reduce fraud that could occur from misusing healthcare cards. In most cases, governments build upon an existing health beneficiaries database, including photos, and issue plastic cards without chips.
The solution consists in adding on each card a 2D-barcode printed around the picture. Personalisation phase remains unchanged as Photometrix™ code can be printed with any commercial card printer without requiring additional hardware investment. Then, verifying that a printed photo has not been tampered with is made easy as it can be performed offline with any smartphone: the phone will just need a camera to read the picture and its 2D barcode and will be able to verify offline that the photo has not been altered thanks to a dedicated application. There is no need to read or store any additional data making the system GDPR compliant per se. As it does not require extra personalisation equipment, the Photometrix™ solution is easy to implement, cost-effective and scalable.
In a world evolving towards phygital, the combination of physical and digital environments, Photometrix™ is also adapted to dematerialised cards. Issuing a virtual healthcare card, including a photo and a 2D barcode, can be completed along the same rails as traditional card issuance.
Verification is executed in the same manner, reading the portrait surrounded by the 2D barcode with a smartphone running a dedicated app offline.
In Togo, the INAM (National Healthcare Insurance Institute), in charge of the healthcare insurance program was originally created to organise health insurance of public employees in Togo, with the goal to broaden coverage to the entire population while extending security.
From October 2021, a law has been voted in order to extend this first healthcare coverage experience to all residents in Togo. In parallel, a new state agency was created with the aim to identify the whole population. INAM will have access to this resource from early 2023.
INAM has selected our Photometrix™ solution to implement this national program, which ensures that the healthcare card that was issued by INAM and is not a forged one, that the card holder is the right person and that there is no ID substitution in order to deliver health services and benefits.
This solution is suitable to Togo as it is not limited to a physical secure card, it also provides a digital version of Healthcare ID card and a smartphone app. The smartphone performs an offline control, what is fundamental due to lack of infrastructure in some Togolese regions and allows health stakeholders equipped with a dedicated smartphone to check the validity of rights. Digital ID is also a key factor as it will allow putting in place a robust system to maintain individuals’ benefits up-to-date and keeping alive a sustainable national program.
Mr. Winga, Head of Affiliation & Collection Department INAM Togo, declares: “As our mission is to provide access to a trusted healthcare solution to a large number of beneficiaries, we need to ensure that we detect attempts of fraud and ensure no one receives our services illegally while updating those rights. The Photometrix™ technology allows us to achieve this goal, while keeping our costs under control, as we personalize cards on standard equipment and portrait security can be verified with any smartphone.”
The Photometrix™ solution, along with all parts of IN Groupe offer for governments, businesses and professionals, will be presented on IN Groupe booth 5.2 D 035 during Trustech, a global event for innovative payments and identification solutions, taking place in Paris, Porte de Versailles, on November 29 – December 1st, 2022.
Photometrix benefits from the world leading expertise of Surys, the leading brand in optical technology, providing anti-counterfeiting solutions. Surys technologies ensure that identity documents, banknotes and fiduciary documents are easy to authenticate and hard to counterfeit and already adopted by over 130 countries alongside renowned major corporations.
