Armenia to Introduce Personal Mobil-ID System

YEREVAN — The Armenian government has approved a new draft, according to which the Armenian citizens will be identified via their mobile phones. The system is to be used by government agencies in dealing with citizens.

Chief of Armenian Government Staff David Harutyunian remarked that Armenian state structures had already implemented electronic document exchange system, though it did not prove to be perfect, as physical presence of citizens was often required for identification.

According to him, about 750 thousand citizens have ID-cards already, and about 120 thousand of them are active users.

“The suggested version will be appropriate even in case of lower-cost mobile phones. The citizens will simply need to place the identification SIM-card in their phones to receive 2 PIN code. As a result, they will be able to get ID availability though mobile phones, as well as receive statements from their bank accounts, Armenian Compulsory Enforcement Service etc.,” Davit Harutyunian said.

Harutyunyian noticed that mobile phone identification was already applied in Armenia: “The model has been incorporated and used in E-health and eCitizen systems”.

The introduction of a system of person identification via mobile phones, a step that was first taken by Estonia in 2007, has spread widely throughout Europe.