Simply proving who you are can present a problem for migrant workers. In many factory and manual laboring jobs the employer takes the worker’s identity card as a form of collateral to be returned at the end of the contract and/or when a replacement is found.

Without an identity card it can be difficult to sign up for a pre-paid mobile phone account – just how difficult varies from market to market, and the extent to which know your customer (KYC) requirements are enforced or indeed are enforceable. Accessing regular banking branches to withdraw or deposit money can also be problematic without an identity card since the task requires prior interaction with the employer.

In cultures with a high level of graft the police are more likely to use physical ownership of an identity card as a leverage point to exhort fines/bribes – as a risk-aversion strategy photocopies or laminated facsimiles are likely to be carried. In contexts where identity information is frequently asked – some people carry multiple photocopies. In these environments migrants make easy pickings and can fall under suspicion with the police for the simple reason that they are not local. For many migrants obtaining a locally recognized identity card, either through formal or illegal means is a job in itself.

How do the services we offer differ in a world where personal identity is collateral?

-Jan Chipchase