Soon Polish citizens will be able to carry ID cards on their phone

Polish citizens will be able to carry around electronic versions of their ID cards on their mobile phones starting next year, Digital Minister Anna Strezynska said Friday.

"I hope that Poles, who are known in Europe for their open-mindedness regarding new technology, will be leading users" of the system, Strezynska said, as quoted by Polish news agency PAP.

She spoke during a visit to the southern town of Nowy Wisnicz, one of the locations where the technology is currently being tested.

Ministry spokesman Karol Manys told AFP that similar systems already exist in a few other EU member states including Austria and cyber-savvy Estonia.

He added that the government is preparing changes to current legislation so Poles will be able to pull out their mobile phones when they need to show identification to police officers and others.

The new system will be rolled out gradually, starting with young people. Mobile phone versions of driving licences, vehicle registration papers, student cards and other documents will follow, according to Strezynska.

Citizens of the country of 38 million people will see their ID cards stored in the cloud and will be able to call up the documents on their mobile phones using a code received by text message.

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© 2017 AFP