If you check in in shops, restaurants or bars in times of 2G and 3G, you have to pull out your ID card in addition to your vaccination card. Queues can form until you have dug out and shown all the necessary documents. This should go faster in the future: namely, if the identity card – as is already the case with the vaccination certificate – is in digital form on the smartphone. Actually, the so-called Smart-eID should come in December. But now it has been announced that there are delays in the project.
Not enough compatible devices
Smartphones must meet various security requirements in order to store ID data. This includes, for example, a special security chip that must be certified by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). And this seems to be the crux of the matter. So far, only Samsung has obtained certification from the BSI for the Galaxy S20. The Galaxy S21, Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Fold2, Galaxy Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G are expected to follow soon, but there is still a lack of commitments for other manufacturers. And the federal government may want to wait for them before the start. The federal offices have not yet commented on the postponement. At Samsung, it is assumed that the digital Perso will come in March 2022.
Delays also with activation
In order to be able to store the ID on the smartphone, the online function of the ID must be activated. Citizens should actually be able to do the activation online from December, but there are delays here too. It was only a few days ago that the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that it was still necessary to go to the office for the time being. Further tests must be carried out before the online service can start.