United Kingdom Post Office Limited Passes the 1.5 Million Mark with Its Application Enrollment and Identity Service

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Post Office Limited in the United Kingdom today announces that its Applicant Enrollment Identification (AEI) service has now processed the biometric information of more than one and a half million applicants using 3M Cogent Biometric Enrollment Stations (CBES). The Post Office carries out the enrollment process by capturing applicant information such as fingerprints, photographs, and digital signatures. The AEI service is designed to serve multiple clients and is currently being used by the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the UK Border Agency.

“The milestone of enrolling one and a half million applicants is indicative of how effective the AEI service is”

The DVLA uses the AEI service to allow drivers to renew their drivers’ licenses. By capturing drivers’ photographs and digital signatures at Post Office branches, the service has automated the renewal process that occurs every ten years. Using AEI, the renewal process takes an average of 3.5 - 5 minutes.

The UK Border Agency requires non-European Economic Area and Swiss nationals planning to remain in the UK for more than six months to have their biometric information collected as part of the application process. Post Office branches record the applicant’s biometric information at AEI facilities and send it securely to the UK Border Agency. Once the digital signature, photograph, and fingerprints are received and checked by the UK Border Agency and they are satisfied with all aspects of the immigration application, the UK Border Agency issues the foreign national a Biometric Residence Permit.

“The milestone of enrolling one and a half million applicants is indicative of how effective the AEI service is,” said 3M Cogent Executive Vice President Michael Hollowich. “As a leader in biometric solutions, we strive to provide versatile solutions for government agencies’ needs.”

Martin Moran, Commercial Director of Post Office Limited, said, “Our long history of delivering essential government services has made a significant contribution to the success of the AEI service and further cements our credentials as a front office for government. The Post Office presents the public with a friendly, familiar, local point of contact and security for their personal data.”

With over 750 AEI locations throughout the UK, the Post Office – 3M Cogent partnership has successfully developed a proven and secure information system to capture the biometric information to the required quality standards for both agencies. The result is high quality service to customers, DVLA and the UK Border Agency that minimizes cost and rejection rates for customers and maximizes convenience in a single visit.

For more information about 3M Cogent Biometric Enrollment Stations, visit http://www.cogentsystems.com/cbes.asp.

About 3M Security Systems Division
3M Security Systems Division is a trusted partner and industry leader in delivering end-to-end, innovative security solutions to businesses and governments worldwide—helping to ensure the security of people, documents and goods. With an unmatched mix of leading technologies in biometrics and credentialing as well as expert systems integration and support, 3M helps solve an array of security challenges, including brand protection, product security, efficient passenger check-in, secure ID and passport document issuance, and hardware and software system solutions for border management. 3M Cogent adds to these capabilities with biometric identification solutions for governments, law enforcement agencies and commercial enterprises. 3M Cogent strives to provide the highest quality identification systems, products and services with leading technology, accuracy and speed. 3M Security Systems technologies are used in over 100 countries around the world.

About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 84,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

3M is a trademark of 3M Company.

About UK Post Office
Post Office Limited has an unrivalled national network of over 11,500 branches across the UK, more than all the high street banks combined, and sits at the heart of many communities across the country. The Post Office has made a commitment to no more branch closure programmes. It provides around 170 different services and products spanning financial services including savings, insurance, loans, mortgages and credit cards. Post Office also offers Government services; telephony; foreign currency; travel insurance and mail services. It serves around 20 million customers a week and half of all small businesses. 93% of the total population live within one mile of a post office and 99.7% within three miles. For many rural communities the post office is the only retail outlet. Post offices remain highly valued and trusted and are the focal point for many communities. For more information, visit www.postoffice.co.uk.