What You Should Know About Nigeria's National ID Card

The National Identity Card is the card issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to Nigerians as a means of identification and contains relevant information about the holder.

As from January 1, 2018 the federal government has announced that no Nigerian will obtain or renew international passports without having the National Identification Number (NIN).

Here are things you need to know about the National ID card:

The National e-ID Card can only be issued to Nigerians registered into the national identity system and legal residents who have attained the age of 16 years and above. Unlike the National Identification Number (NIN) which is assignable to all Nigerians and legal residents without any age restrictions.

The e-ID card can be used for identification, payment and other applications in Nigeria.

The National e-ID Card as it contains key information of the applicant or Card holder recorded in the Database.

This payment Function enables the National e-ID Card to be used as a tool for making payments for goods and services in any part of the world.

All that the cardholder needs to do is to visit one of the participating banks (such as Access Bank) and load money on the card or have someone transfer money to the Card using any of the available payment platforms/options.

For example (from a bank account to the Card, Quickteller transfer, POS terminals, ATM) etc.

The card can also be used to pay for goods and services such as utility bills like DSTV, GOTV, Startimes, flight tickets, Water bill, PHCN and so on and in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) all over the world where any of the payment processors (such as Mastercard) is displayed.

The card has your 10 fingerprints taken at the point of registration in to the National Identity Database safely stored away on it. No unauthorised person can access them.

The Match-on Card (MoC) is the most secure technology to authenticate a person. A secure terminal or a Card Acceptance Device (CAD) is used to match a specific fingerprint against that locked away on the National e-ID Card.

Too many attempts, and the applet is blocked for security reasons. That way, an agency or authorised person can be sure that the person presenting the Card is the true owner. It is no different from what is currently done with the

The National e-ID Card is also a travel document and conforms to such standards as the ICAO just like the International Passport.

This function on the Card provides future functionality for anyone who may wish to embark on cross border migration such as regional travel within West Africa and or other consenting Countries where a visa is not required.

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