It is widely acknowledged that the automation of border controls will promote the efficient management of international boundaries, BUT ONLY IF industry and government authorities urgently collaborate to create an end-to-end trusted solution that delivers global interoperability. This has to be based on sufficient standards, supported by certification schemes to validate that products are abiding to the framework.Biometric technologies are rapidly advancing toward 100% penetration of the passport market. Also, a passport is a document that serves a transaction (or as a form of communication) between sovereign entities. Both sovereign entities must agree on the terms of the transaction from positions of equal status. The high adoption rate of biometrics in passports as well as the exclusive prerogatives of nation states makes interoperability a more pressing concern in travel documents than in other types of ID transaction.
In other words: Interoperability is way more interesting in the passport world than with other forms of ID. Who cares if you can't use use your Kroger loyalty card at Ralph's?
UPDATE: Lot's of people, it turns out.
UPDATE II: Of course, there's an app for that. It doesn't make them interoperable but it helps people cope with the fact that they aren't.
