The average Hungarian citizen carries several cards with them at all times.  These include the obligatory ID card, an accompanying address card, a national health insurance card and a tax card.  Besides these, there can sometimes be a travel pass, bank card, and even a driving license. Of these, all are the traditional credit card size, except for the health insurance card which is about 40% bigger.

So for a typical Hungarian, it's not a question of taking five cards with you as you leave, but rather carrying six or seven forms of identification, all of which you might need.

To make matters worse, the ID card and accompanying address card need to be presented together because the address card has no photograph of the holder on it.  Nor does the tax card or national health insurance card, so if you misplace your ID card (with photo), the others are rendered worthless.

Mr Iván Vetési, Ministry Commissioner, has been tasked by the government to create an all-encompassing "national uniform card system" that would bring all forms of identification under one banner.  The new card would not only combine all the significant individual indentifiers in one place - ID number, tax number, address, etc - but Vetési would like to see the card also made accessible to non-governmental businesses and groups.

Vetési said that it is important to reduce the number of cards that an individual carries, but that privacy issues were also being looked into so that citizens' personal information was kept safe. He added that if the card proposal were to be accepted as-is, the new card could already get into people's hands within six months.

He also said that the proposal allows for non-government bodies to also join the card system.  So, for example, a swimming pool could apply to join the card system, and if accepted, could use the all-in-one card for their members.  A positive is that it could reduce operating costs and reduce the number of cards carried.  Negatives include privacy concerns and whether consumers will feel comfortable having so much personal information collected in one place.

Mr Vetési was appointed Ministerial Administrative Commissioner at the Ministry of Justice on 1 February.  While his tenure is due to last only until 31 July, his brief is to develop the concept of the national uniform card system and to ensure that the new card is rolled out by 31 December 2012.

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