The federal government has announced a date for the issuance of the proposed three-in-one identity card.

According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigerians will begin to use the services of the proposed three-in-one identity card from August 2024.

The single multipurpose card is said to combine multiple functions of identity, financial and social services.

A member of the implementation team who craved anonymity said the commission had been working tirelessly to meet its goals.

The source added that the plan remains on track and would be launched in the next two months.

He also disclosed that the commission has begun the testing and deployment stage.

“We actually plan for July although there have been a few delays but we are still hopeful that it would come in July. So we are hoping to get it done between July and August. We are still on plan and if there is any shift, the public will know,” the high-ranking official said.

“When you are deploying a new technology, there is a lot of work to be done, you need to configure the card, enable the outlet, and enable the wallet to work. We also have to do tests and that is what is ongoing.

“The deployment is ongoing, the portal that people need to access the service has to be deployed, and we have to make sure that it is scaleable and those are the ongoing works.

“There are integrations that all the banks need to do to enable the card and all of those little details are ongoing. We have that target and we are working extra hard to make sure that we achieve that,” the official added.

NIMC recently announced that it had launched a new card layered with payment capabilities and social service features in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System.

NIMC further explained that the new ID card was equipped with payment capability for all types of social and financial services.

According to a statement issued, the initiative represents a collaborative effort to offer increased options for domestic consumers while fostering the delivery of services in a more innovative, cost-effective, and competitive manner.