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28 March 2024

Emirates ID replaces health insurance, ATM cards; driving licence next?

Published
By Parag Deulgaonkar

The Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) is ready to provide all the necessary support to government and private institutions that want to replace their cards with the ID card, it said in a statement emailed to Emirates 24|7.
 
“We confirm our readiness to provide the necessary support to those wishing to take advantage of the potential available in the identity card.
 
The ID card's smart chip can bind customers’ records by ID number or upload basic data of cardholder field storage allocated by the authority for this purpose, all within the chip,” the authority said.
 
The response came following a query from this website on when the ID card will replace driving licences.
 
It has been mentioned earlier that the ID card in future will include investor, social affairs, birth, driving license and passport information.

Eida revealed that a number of banks and government institutions were already providing services through the use of the ID card.

“There are many companies that have replaced their cards with the ID card.

“Mashreq Bank and Al Hilal Bank are allowing customers the opportunity to use ID card to complete banking transactions through ATMs.”

Daman, the National Health Insurance Company, has begun trial use of the ID card, while the Dubai Health Authority has also confirmed that the ID card will be mandatory for logging in SAADA, a health insurance programme for citizens in Dubai.

Moreover, Dubai Municipality has already adopted the use of the ID card number as an alternative to Enaya (health insurance card) that was previously used for all employees.  

“We have provided space on the back of the card for use in printing data, in addition to the ability to print personal data in the form of the symbol ‘QR’ [quick response] code,” Eida stated.

The authority also confirmed that the database, the population registration, constitutes the main source for those who are interested and concerned to rely on the identification number given to each citizen and resident of the UAE.

Emirates ID number is specific to each individual and does not change for lifetime, thus eliminating the need to issue another card, it added.