Zetes Wins Belgian e-ID card middleware contract

Following an open international tender, Zetes has been awarded a new two-year contract by Fedict (the Belgian Federal public service of Information Technology and Communication) for extending and enhancing the middleware tools that interface the Belgian e-ID card with all citizens and information systems.

Pilot software is to be supplied free to citizens and developers and is downloadable from the http://eid.belgium.be website. The pilot software offers benefits in terms of security, interoperability, integration with the principal operating systems (Microsoft, Linux and Apple) and the flexibility to make changes to the e-ID card.

In 2002, the Belgian government took a lead in public ID security documents in Europe, by launching its National e-ID card project. Currently, 50% of Belgian citizens over the age of 12 now own their National e-ID card. At the start of the project, Zetes was appointed as the main contractor for card production, personalisation and distribution, and also for software developments – including e-ID card middleware.

After four years of operations, Fedict decided to launch an open and international invitation to tender for the development of a new generation of middleware.

According to Ronny Depoortere, senior VP Zetes PASS: “By renewing its confidence in Zetes, Fedict not only testifies to the high quality of our e-ID tools and best practices implemented in the first generations of the Belgian e-ID card middleware, but also, more recently, for the Portuguese Citizens ID card project, where Zetes was again selected to provide customised middleware tools.”