Fighting for identification: Biometric verification — an uphill struggle for many
Multiple factors can impact the legibility of fingerprints
The nature of his job has made the hands of the auto mechanic very rough. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI:
Biometric verification has become a new norm in all the government institutions and banks in Pakistan, with millions rushing to beat deadlines and get themselves registered at various facilities.
However, as the country is becoming increasingly reliant on the process, some people are facing difficulties because of the nature of their jobs, or for different medical reasons.
Skilled labourers, specially those who do not adopt safety measures to protect their fingers, usually face problems as biometric machines often fail to detect their fingerprints. These include auto mechanics, painters, those who work with dyes or in dye manufacturing factories, and paan vendors, to name a few. People with certain skin allergies also face difficulties during biometric verification.
The issue makes life extremely difficult for people who need to get Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) or passports issued or renewed, purchase mobile phone SIMs, and even while certain bank transactions or online money transfers.
“It took me a one and a half month to get my bank account restored,” Barkat Ali, an employee of the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports in Karachi, told The Express Tribune.
Ali suffers from a skin allergy which aggravates during very cold or hot weather. As a result, his fingerprints could not be registered by the biometric verification machine at his bank despite various attempts. Consequently, his bank account was suspended.
“Being a salaried person, I faced a lot of difficulties because I was unable to withdraw money from my account,” Ali recalled. “I attempted to go through the process once again and luckily my middle finger successfully matched with my biometric data, after which my bank account was restored,” Ali said, with a sigh of relief.
At present, banks across the country have been instructed to block or suspend accounts of people who have not carried out their biometric verification at their respective banks. The banks have been provided access to the account holder’s data from NADRA which helps verify the authenticity of the account.
Like Ali, Nooruddin - a paan seller whose shop is located at Lucky Star in Saddar area - had to face a lot of problems when he went to NADRA to obtain his CNIC. As Nooruddin uses catechu [katha], a strong astringent used in the preparation of paan, his fingerprints had been affected.
“I had to face a lot of difficulties at NADRA as even after repeated attempts, my fingerprints could not be taken,” he said while speaking to The Express Tribune. “The staffers at NADRA later provided me with a thick piece of cloth to clean my fingers, but even then it took hours for me to carry out my biometric verification.”
Speaking on the matter, Anwar Ali, a staffer at a NADRA office in Hyderabad, said that they always do their best to advise or facilitate people who may have problems with their fingers.
“We also advise such people to revisit if their fingers do not match, even after repeated attempts. In rare cases, biometrics of a relative is taken as a reference to solve the problem,” he said.
Miskeen, who runs an auto spare parts shop in Saddar area, confirmed that he had done biometric verification as a reference for his wife, whose fingerprints could not be verified at the local NADRA centre.
Adnan, a man who runs a mobile money-transfer franchise in Qayyumabad area, said that people working as auto mechanics or dye experts also face problems in getting their biometric verification done because of the nature of their jobs.
“Frequent use of oil and dyes, without adequate safety measures, have adverse effects on people’s hands and fingers,” Adnan explained. “I have seen many people coming to my shop to send money but returning disappointed because their fingerprints were not detected by the machine. Since it’s all digitised now, we can’t help anyone.”
Atiq, an auto mechanic at a workshop at Pakistan Chowk, explained that the nature of his job has made his hands and fingers very rough, because of which he often faces difficulty in sending or receiving money through Easy Paisa. He told The Express Tribune that he recently asked one of his friends to send money to his relative because his problem couldn’t be resolved.
Akbar Ali, a labourer working at a dye factory in Lyari also faces a similar problem. According to him, he could not receive money through an Easy Paisa outlet due to biometric verification failure.
“Even after repeated attempts, my fingerprints could not be detected by the machine. As a result, I requested the franchise owner to use his own CNIC to make the transaction,” he said.
“Something, however, must be done about it because we cannot continue to take help from others for the rest of our lives.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2019.
Biometric verification has become a new norm in all the government institutions and banks in Pakistan, with millions rushing to beat deadlines and get themselves registered at various facilities.
However, as the country is becoming increasingly reliant on the process, some people are facing difficulties because of the nature of their jobs, or for different medical reasons.
Skilled labourers, specially those who do not adopt safety measures to protect their fingers, usually face problems as biometric machines often fail to detect their fingerprints. These include auto mechanics, painters, those who work with dyes or in dye manufacturing factories, and paan vendors, to name a few. People with certain skin allergies also face difficulties during biometric verification.
The issue makes life extremely difficult for people who need to get Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) or passports issued or renewed, purchase mobile phone SIMs, and even while certain bank transactions or online money transfers.
“It took me a one and a half month to get my bank account restored,” Barkat Ali, an employee of the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports in Karachi, told The Express Tribune.
Ali suffers from a skin allergy which aggravates during very cold or hot weather. As a result, his fingerprints could not be registered by the biometric verification machine at his bank despite various attempts. Consequently, his bank account was suspended.
“Being a salaried person, I faced a lot of difficulties because I was unable to withdraw money from my account,” Ali recalled. “I attempted to go through the process once again and luckily my middle finger successfully matched with my biometric data, after which my bank account was restored,” Ali said, with a sigh of relief.
At present, banks across the country have been instructed to block or suspend accounts of people who have not carried out their biometric verification at their respective banks. The banks have been provided access to the account holder’s data from NADRA which helps verify the authenticity of the account.
Like Ali, Nooruddin - a paan seller whose shop is located at Lucky Star in Saddar area - had to face a lot of problems when he went to NADRA to obtain his CNIC. As Nooruddin uses catechu [katha], a strong astringent used in the preparation of paan, his fingerprints had been affected.
“I had to face a lot of difficulties at NADRA as even after repeated attempts, my fingerprints could not be taken,” he said while speaking to The Express Tribune. “The staffers at NADRA later provided me with a thick piece of cloth to clean my fingers, but even then it took hours for me to carry out my biometric verification.”
Speaking on the matter, Anwar Ali, a staffer at a NADRA office in Hyderabad, said that they always do their best to advise or facilitate people who may have problems with their fingers.
“We also advise such people to revisit if their fingers do not match, even after repeated attempts. In rare cases, biometrics of a relative is taken as a reference to solve the problem,” he said.
Miskeen, who runs an auto spare parts shop in Saddar area, confirmed that he had done biometric verification as a reference for his wife, whose fingerprints could not be verified at the local NADRA centre.
Adnan, a man who runs a mobile money-transfer franchise in Qayyumabad area, said that people working as auto mechanics or dye experts also face problems in getting their biometric verification done because of the nature of their jobs.
“Frequent use of oil and dyes, without adequate safety measures, have adverse effects on people’s hands and fingers,” Adnan explained. “I have seen many people coming to my shop to send money but returning disappointed because their fingerprints were not detected by the machine. Since it’s all digitised now, we can’t help anyone.”
Atiq, an auto mechanic at a workshop at Pakistan Chowk, explained that the nature of his job has made his hands and fingers very rough, because of which he often faces difficulty in sending or receiving money through Easy Paisa. He told The Express Tribune that he recently asked one of his friends to send money to his relative because his problem couldn’t be resolved.
Akbar Ali, a labourer working at a dye factory in Lyari also faces a similar problem. According to him, he could not receive money through an Easy Paisa outlet due to biometric verification failure.
“Even after repeated attempts, my fingerprints could not be detected by the machine. As a result, I requested the franchise owner to use his own CNIC to make the transaction,” he said.
“Something, however, must be done about it because we cannot continue to take help from others for the rest of our lives.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2019.