Many national identity cards and all biometric passports carry a contactless chip. NFC ID verification reads that chip with the near-field communication reader in a phone or tablet, held against the document. The chip holds the identity data and, for passports and some cards, the holder's photograph, signed by the issuing authority. Reading the chip gives the data as issued, and the signature shows that it has not been altered. A face check against the chip's photograph or against the issuer's record then ties the person to the document.
Where it fits
NFC verification sits between a document scan and a government digital identity. It is stronger than a scan because the chip cannot be edited the way an image can. It differs from a scheme such as iAM Smart because the person does not need an account: they need only the document and a phone. For Mainland Chinese residents, the resident identity card's chip is the basis of China eID verification, where the read is confirmed against the official record.
Why it matters
The HKMA's remote onboarding circular asks firms to show that the identity document and data are genuine and that the customer is the person they describe. A chip read with a face check answers both, and the result records how.
How Fill Easy relates to it
Fill Easy's China eID verification, marketed as SinoConnect within GovVerify, runs by NFC tap on the Mainland resident identity card, in the customer's phone, an agent's tablet or the client's own app, with a face check in the same session. Prudential's NFC e-KYC case study describes it in use.