Gemalto's advanced e-passport technologies to be used in 30 different countries

The Gemalto on Thursday announced that its advanced e-passport technologies will be used in over 30 different countries, facilitating more convenience to border crossings, strengthen homeland protection and improve travelling experience.

In addition, the company's secured embedded software has consistently outperformed the competition in international tests on speed over the last decade. Gemalto is also making an active contribution to the definition of international ePassport standards.

Electronic passports include a standardized electronic portrait of the holder for facial recognition, which opens the door to a comprehensive range of automated, self-service airport for passengers.

This extends from check-in through to immigration control and boarding, resulting in an enhanced experience on arrival and departure.

Introduced in 2005, the ePassport - which now represents 57 percent of passports in circulation - delivers enhanced fraud protection by incorporating a secure microprocessor that stores the holder's personal data and digital photo.

The key trends in travel documentation, identified by Gemalto, include swift migration to tamper-proof polycarbonate data pages, which dramatically reduce the risk of fraud. Sensitive e-passport data is stored on the holder's smart phone to create a secure companion to the physical passport, making life easier for travellers.

Combined with hundreds of millions of ePassports now in circulation and a strong push behind biometrics (particularly facial recognition), they offer travelers quick and secure cross-border movement.