“Called Mi Argentina, the app essentially offers a smartphone-based replica of a given citizen’s official ID card.”

HID Global has helped the Argentinian government to develop what it’s calling the world’s first mobile-based national ID credential.

Called Mi Argentina, the app essentially offers a smartphone-based replica of a given citizen’s official ID card. The country’s National Registry of Persons, or “Renaper”, issues National Identity Documents to all Argentinian citizens at birth, with renewals required at five to eight years old, 14 years old, and every 15 years thereafter; Mi Argentina is legally considered the full equivalent of this physical identity card.

The app is the product of a collaboration between HID Global, Renaper, and the country’s Ministry of Modernization, and is based on the HID goID platform. In addition to housing the virtual National Identity Document, the app offers e-government services, allowing citizens to book appointments and receive health information.

The virtual National Identity Document can be accessed even when the mobile device is offline; and if the smartphone is stolen or lost, it can be revoked remotely.

In a statement announcing HID’s involvement in the project, the company’s VP and Managing Director of Citizen Identity, Jessica Westerouen, said, “The government of Argentina’s implementation of our technology provides its citizens with innovative ID access and the ease of a completely mobile experience from registration to issuance.”

Renaper director José D’Amico, meanwhile, suggested that this could lead to even greater digital ID projects in the country going forward. “This innovative application is not only easy to get, but we also believe this could be the first step in digitizing identity across the government in Argentina and potentially other countries in years to come,” he said.