Maldives Immigration has recently introduced an innovative new Passport Card with multiple uses. Built by Dermalog, a German technological company known for its innovative biometric systems, the Passport Card is supposed to be a one of its kind. It can hold licence, health and insurance details plus can carry out monetary transactions, which Maldives immigration claims is the first of its kind in the world. Available from the 25th of October, the Passport Cards are to be sold for MVR 450. Here, we breakdown the features of this innovative new travel tool for Maldivians.
Multiple Information Under One Card
The best new feature for me I would say is the ability to store licence, health and insurance information on the card plus the fact that it can be used for monetary transactions “across the globe”. Although I have searched for several articles to understand how we will deposit cash into the card none of the articles have discussed this issue, yet.
After doing some digging, I can confirm that to use the card for monetary transactions, you would need to link the Passport Card to their respective BML account and this card can then be used wherever MasterCard is accepted. However, if the Passport Card holder is below 18 then it must be linked to a prepaid reloadable card, which should be topped up before hand to use. This card is certified by both Bank of Maldives and MasterCard, which allows users to use it abroad like any other MasterCard.
Material
The new Passport Card has been created using a Polycarbonate material that according to Dermalog will last for around 10 years compared to most bank cards, which lasts about 3 years. With this in mind, does that mean that Maldivians will now have to renew their passports every 10 years instead of the current 5 year rule? The new polycarbonate feature does seem pointless and a “nice to have” feature if we are to be renewing the card every 5 years. I support the 5 year rule by the way mainly because I believe the photo should be updated. Because if my passport photo lasted 10 years I would look VERY different from what I looked 10 years ago!
On the other hand, since it is a biometric card it might be that the information can be updated on the card instead of issuing a new card, so it might still work.
Dual-Interface Chip
The new Passport Card has a dual-interface chip, which means that the card can be used as a contactless card as well as a contact card. It also contains biometric data in the form of up to 10 fingerprints per user, which means that it will be compatible with biometric screening systems found in major airports. According to Dermalog, this is one of its major security features.
Using Your Passport Card at the Airport
An important thing to mention about your Passport Card is that it is not to be used on its own when travelling.
YOU WOULD STILL BE REQUIRED TO CARRY YOUR ORIGINAL PASSPORT WITH YOU!
Which kind of feels like it defeats the whole purpose of the Passport Card. The fact that Maldives was included in the Registered Traveller Service in the UK (See previous post) makes a lot more sense now since the Passport Card will be useful at ePassport gates such as the ones found in Heathrow. It is also important to note that if you’re under 18 and travelling to the UK you can’t use the ePassport gates even if you have a Passport Card because the ePassport gates is for over 18s only.
Hope this post has helped answer any questions you had on the Passport Card. At the moment, I would not get the Passport Card for myself because I do not live in Maldives so the licence and health insurance bits do not help me that much. But this would definitely be helpful for people living in the Maldives who travels frequently as they can make use of the new features the card provides. Although why would you not whip out our beautiful passport every time you’re at an immigration counter? For me it is the most beautiful passport in the world and I am proud to be carrying it!