Russian Citizens to use Futronic FS64 Fingerprint Scanner to apply for Schengen Visa at PONY EXPRESS
HONG KONG, Nov. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting from September 14, 2015, Russian citizens will be obliged to undergo a biometric data collecting process, including fingerprints, in order to obtain Schengen visas. The biometric data will be stored in the Visa Information System (VIS), common to all Schengen Member States. Apart from Russia, the VIS operates to issue visas to citizens of 18 countries, including China, India, Turkey and the CIS countries. Russia leads in the number of Schengen visas obtained by its citizens, with Russians getting about a third of all visas issued by EU countries. That is why European Union representatives have paid particular attention to the technical equipment of visa centers that will issue Schengen visas under the new rules. One of the leaders of visa service industry in Russia and the CIS countries is the Russian company PONY EXPRESS. It has more than 90 visa offices in Russia. 40 of them are already equipped with Futronic FS64 fingerprint scanners. By the end of 2015, there will be 60 such offices.
Natalya Evseenko, Director of PONY EXPRESS Visa Service Department said:
"Today, in Russia, there is a great demand for visa centers, which can provide the collection of biometric data. The problem of visa centers' equipment is particularly acute in the regions of the Russian Federation. In order to provide our customers with a quality service of biometric data collection, PONY EXPRESS has chosen Futronic FS64 fingerprint scanner. This exact model is used in all our visa centers. This scanner is a cost-effective solution. It allows you to get high quality images in a very short period of time. It takes our customers less than a minute to be fingerprinted using this scanner. This equipment meets all safety and technology standards, so we plan to continue equipping our visa centers with such scanners."
"Collecting fingerprint data for visa applications is becoming more and more popular all over the world. The USA started collecting visa applicants' fingerprint data from 2004; after that many other countries follow. The market of fingerprint scanner hardware for this unique purpose is getting bigger and bigger. Futronic Technology Co. Ltd. is one of the companies who can supply high quality and economical fingerprint scanner for this demanding application," said Y.M. Jiang, Marketing Director of Futronic. "Futronic's products have been used in many government projects around the world. These projects include smart ID cards, electronic passports, Presidential elections and large-scale banking. It is very exciting to work with PONY EXPRESS for this project. Both companies have worked hard together in very short period of time to make it happen. We are very glad to see the successful deployment of our FS64 by PONY EXPRESS in Russia."
National security has becomes a major issue for all countries. Their need to identify visitors is so important because more and more people are travelling around the world, today. Using Fingerprints is an easy, reliable and effective solution for such identification. Therefore, it can be expected that more countries will follow the same way the US and European countries in collecting their visitors' fingerprint data.
About PONY EXPRESS
PONY EXPRESS (http://www.ponyexpress.ru) is the largest international logistics provider in Russia and the CIS countries, and a member of one of Russia's largest diversified industrial groups -- Basic Element. The company provides a full range of services, including processing and delivery of mail and cargo consignments, secure storage and warehousing. It has the widest regional logistics network in Russia, consisting of 60 branches and 128 regional representative offices, as well as subdivisions in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Armenia. PONY EXPRESS is actively developing its visa services. The company has a network of visa centers in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus.
About Futronic Technology Company Limited
Futronic (http://www.futronic-tech.com) provides advanced fingerprint recognition hardware and software products to customers who need enhanced security in identity management. With proprietary fingerprint recognition algorithm, Futronic develops and manufactures products for physical access control, computer and network logon, identity management and e-commence. For more information, please visit http://www.futronic-tech.com.