UK Post Office Limited Passes 1.5 Million Mark with Its AEI Service

Post Office Limited in the UK announced 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 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 to 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.”

With more than 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.