The United Arab Emirates signed a deal with telecommunications company, Etisalat, to embed citizens' national
ID information into mobile phones. They will now be exploring a system
that would utilize an NFC or Near Field Communication application, which
allows cell phones to communicate data via radio frequency within very
close range. The UAE has had a national ID system since 2004, with IDs
carrying a chip similar to one on a credit card and holding a person's
name, birthday, gender, photograph, fingerprint, and ID number.