Biometric tech for bikers wins Singapore award (Planet Biometrics)

Already hosting soe 40,000 enrolees, the BIKES system facilitates self- immigration clearance at designated lanes. Designed for speed and accuracy, the process takes under 16 seconds.

Singapore has been one of the more enthusiastic adopters of border biometrics.

Citi unveils bank branch-in-a-box

Citi launches new ATM in Asia (Banking Business Review)

Citi has rolled out a new ATM in Asia, Citibank Express, which enables customers to perform nearly all banking jobs including opening accounts and applying for loans, cards and cashier’s checks, without visiting a branch.

New machines are already being installed in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, while installation at in-branch and out-of-branch locations across Asia and globally will follow later this year.

For customer identity authentication, the new machine is outfitted with an online banking connection, video-conferencing and biometric capability.

Malaysia & Singapore are already at the forefront of biometric deployments so it's no surprise Citi is rolling out the machines there first.

Biometrics Making Life Easier for Malaysia & Singaporeans

It's been a while singe we checked in on the Malaysia-Singapore border biometrics deployment(s), but it looks like things are going well.

No more disembarkation cards for Singapore to Johor travellers (The Star)

Effective today, those entering the state from Singapore will no longer have to fill up the Immigration disembarkation cards or white cards.

This will ease the hassle faced by thousands of foreigners, especially Singa­poreans.

Thousands of Singaporeans and people of other nationalities enter the state daily.

In the early stages of implementation, Malaysia's border initiatives were not met with universal acclaim. Now, it seems that having the new technology in place has allowed for far more efficient border management that is both more rigorous and less consuming of time and paper than the system that used to be in place.

The increased efficiency should also serve to increase economic activity in the area which will have benefits of its own.

Congratulations to Malaysia and to the Singaporeans that make frequent visits. My condolences to whomever prints the immigration disembarkation cards.

This map and photo gives a flavor of the relevant geography. The red dot on the Singapore map is the approximate location of the Johor–Singapore Causeway pictured at right below.

Malaysia Map & Singapore Map Source: CIA The World Factbook.
Johor–Singapore Causeway Source: Wikipedia
(Click Image to Enlarge)

El Paso: New Border Crossing Systems Cause Entry Delays

New U.S. Border Crossing Systems cause Longer Entry Delays (MexiData.Info)

According to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the idea is to eliminate the time inspection officers spend manually entering document information into a computer as well as increase security for officers. Also touted by Unisys as heralding a 21st century approach to processing millions of crossings every year, the El Paso system was erected under a 2010 contract awarded to the company.

But on recent days, pedestrians crossing the Paso del Norte Bridge into El Paso have encountered long delays. A little more than three weeks after the new pedestrian processing lanes were opened, this reporter and a friend spent about 1 hour and 40 minutes waiting to cross back into El Paso.

This well-written and richly detailed article reminded me of some of the issues surrounding a similar implementation on the Malaysia-Singapore border earlier this year.

Hiccups are nearly impossible to avoid entirely, but there is a growing body of experience new adopters can draw from.

Malaysia: After Singapore, Brunei?

Malaysia mulls over proposed special lane at Brunei border (New Straits Times)

"This facility expedites the immigration inspection process at entry points of both countries, and with this facility, FTF users need only obtain passport verification, once every three months." He said this was because, verification and entry or exit activities were recorded electronically, using biometric fingerprints which did not require them to fill out disembarkation forms.

Malaysia had some real growing pains with the biometric border checks with Singapore (lots of posts here). The fact that the news media in Singapore has been largely silent on the subject lately leads me to assume that those growing pains have largely subsided. That Malaysia is considering a re-run with Brunei reinforces the belief that (a) Malaysia is confident that it can apply the lessons it learned with Singapore to its border with Brunei and (b) there were gains associated with the biometric installation at the Singapore border that makes extending its use to Bth border with Brunei desirable.

This post (Malaysia Expands Biometric Automated Clearance System) has maps covering Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei and a picture of a major Malaysia-Singapore border crossing.

Malaysia Expands Biometric Automated Clearance System

Immigration’s MACS goes mobile (The Star)

The MACS [ed. Malaysia Automated Clearance System] is a biometric system that allows swifter processing at checkpoints into the country.

State director Nasri Ishak said so far, more than 100,000 foreigners have registered for the MACS.

The five places include the second floor inside City Square Johor Baru shopping complex, Giant Hypermarket in Tampoi, Jaya Jusco in Tebrau and Holiday Plaza.

“These are places Singaporeans frequent.

“The counters would be open from 10am to 10pm,” he said, adding that it only took five minutes to register.

Nasri said that since the system was implemented in 2009, 98% of applicants has been Singaporeans.

Singapore-Malaysia isn't your average international border.

After all these posts about the Malaysia biometric border deployment and its effect on Malaysia-Singaporean border travel, I've finally broken down and cobbled together a map and photo that gives a flavor of the relevant geography. The red dot on the Singapore map is the approximate location of the Johor–Singapore Causeway pictured at right below.

Malaysia Map & Singapore Map Source: CIA The World Factbook.
Johor–Singapore Causeway Source: Wikipedia
(Click Image to Enlarge)

Malaysia Biometrics Update: June 13, 2011

New system ID's wanted terrorist using false name (newKerala.com)

Faster auto travel as Malaysia adds terminals? (AsiaOne.com)
Golfers, others wary (ChannelNewsAsia.com)
"No problem at airports and ports" (Straits Times)

Malaysia roundup

M'sian Minister: We'll solve border jam (AsiaOne - Singapore)
S'poreans unhappy with Causeway fingerprinting (AsiaOne - Singapore)
Sabah Implements Biometric System (Bernama.com - Malaysia)

The press items from Singapore highlight the inconvenience of the new procedures. The press from Malaysia focuses on the societal problems that the new system is expected to help address.

Singapore is, by some measures, the world's busiest port and is essentially a city-state on an island at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. Any change in the border policy of one country will be intensely felt by the other. There is also quite a history between the two countries, to say the least.

Hopefully the future holds a situation where the benefits arising from the important and legitimate needs for travel and commerce between the two countries and are maximized while those vulnerable to mistreatment are protected.

The pressure is on.

See also:
Malaysia Considers Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants (NY Times)

Singapore to adopt face recognition at border control points

Govt to award S$1.1b worth of public sector infocomm projects (ChannelNewsAsia.com)

The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) plans to implement a biometric system - called the Flexi Immigration Clearance System (Flex-i) - that recognises a person's face at immigration checkpoints and allows the person to enter the country in record time.

The project is the first of its kind in Singapore and will allow ICA to toggle between automated and manned counters for immigration clearance.