Smithers Pira has reported that the global passport business is growing at around 4% per year, driven by increasing international travel and strong per capita growth, especially in Asia.The majority of issued passports are now in the ePassport format, which will become increasingly prevalent by 2020, wrote the group this week in the report "The Future of Security Substrates, Inks and Laminates to 2020".Meanwhile, the ID card market is growing at around 5% per year. ID cards are becoming more technically sophisticated, both at the simple ID card level and at the eID level, with an increasing amount of security components to combat counterfeiting.Paper driving licences are rapidly disappearing as cards and chip cards (eDL) take their place. Driving licence cards are growing at a rate of around 3%, well ahead of global population growth. eDL is likely to continue to grow, although privacy concerns may be holding up eDL rollout in some areas. Cost is another key issue.According to the report, the market for banknotes is continuing to grow at around 5% per year, driven mostly by population and per capita GDP growth. However, within that growth there are areas of concern. The banknote substrate market is suffering oversupply, which is squeezing prices. Some of the more exposed suppliers that are not supported by significant local indent may struggle to survive. Banknote paper in particular is being commoditized.
Recent Video
- New non-profit trade association of HAND will standardise global talent ID
- No cards, no phones: J.P. Morgan’s biometric revolution in payments
- Anthony Vidiano on building the future of access management
- Charisma Check wins 2025 Start-Up Pitching Competition, advancing identity verification and background checks for dating app users
- How to protect one billion Amazon customers: Lessons from continuous risk assessments
