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As has already been reported in various places, it will be possible to add the “My Number Card (Personal Number Card)” to the iPhone wallet in late spring 2025. According to the Japanese government and Apple, this will make almost all of the My Number Card’s functions available on the iPhone.
→ “My Number Card” to be available via iPhone wallet app from late spring 2025
In this article, I would like to summarize from my own perspective why iPhone My Number cards are more promising in terms of security than plastic My Number cards, answer the question of “Why do we need My Number cards in the first place?”, and the current issues that iPhone My Number cards face.
table of contents
The “iPhone My Number Card” is actually much safer than the real thing
Apple aims to create a world where people don’t need to carry wallets by protecting privacy
High security and compliance with international standards
Do we really need “My Number” and “My Number Card” in the first place?
Monitoring government actions leads to better systems
Almost all of the functions of the My Number Card (left) will be available on iPhones
The “iPhone My Number Card” is actually much safer than the real thing
First of all, many people have a negative reaction to the term “My Number Card,” thinking it is “bad” or “unreliable.” The main reason for this is the “mismatch of various data links” in the My Number (personal number).
The government itself is not at fault, as this incident was primarily caused by an “analog error” by local governments and health insurance associations, such as the mistaken registration of people with the same name. However, there is no doubt that this is a “major blunder” that shakes the foundations of trust in the My Number system, and it is unfortunate that it has caused significant damage to the impression of the My Number card, which bears the name.
Regarding operational errors, a comprehensive inspection has been conducted under the leadership of the Digital Agency, and efforts are underway to prevent recurrence, including the development and popularization of systems that require as little human work as possible .
Following a series of errors in linking information related to the My Number system, a comprehensive review was carried out by the ” My Number Information Comprehensive Review Headquarters ” led by the Digital Agency.
Recently, there have been incidents where fake My Number cards have been misused to change the mobile phones of several local assembly members without their permission (re-issuing SIM cards) and to use money from electronic payments.
→ Fraudulent phone changes using My Number cards Softbank President Miyagawa: “Identity verification was insufficient at some stores” IC reading required instead of visual inspection
→ KDDI President Takahashi: SIM/eSIM fraudulent reissue is “a much more important issue than promoting switching”
The above problem was caused by the fact that identity verification using the My Number card was completed by a simple visual inspection , and could have been avoided if counterfeit prevention points had been checked or strict judgment had been made using a machine (such as an IC card reader). In a sense, this is a problem on the part of the mobile phone retailer.
Some mobile phone stores have installed machines that check whether My Number cards, driver’s licenses (driving history certificates), residence cards, etc. are counterfeit (Source: Matsumura Engineering )
The My Number Card that can be installed on an iPhone has important measures in place to prevent such problems .
Countermeasure 1: Biometric authentication required to read card data
How can identity be verified using a plastic My Number card?
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The easiest and most straightforward method is the aforementioned simple visual check : checking whether the photo printed on the card matches the person in front of you, and then checking whether the information on the card matches the registered customer information or other identification documents.
However, this method has the problem that it is difficult to detect counterfeit cards . According to Taro Kono, Minister of Digital Affairs, “The background color of the ‘My Number Rabbit’ mark changes depending on the angle,” and while this does make it possible to distinguish to a certain extent, it is not a very good method of verification.
The best way to check is to read the information on the card from the IC chip . Genuine My Number cards store the information on the card, including a photo, as data. This information can be read using a specific method, but counterfeit cards often have no data in the first place (i.e. the IC chip itself is a dummy). If the cell phone shop mentioned above had been able to do this, they could have avoided the problem.
For cardholders, it also provides a sense of security in that they must enter a PIN (a password to assist with entering information on the card) to access the information. However, there is still the risk that the PIN number may be intercepted and stolen, so caution is advised.
If you search the App Store or Google Play Store, you will find apps that can read the information on your My Number card. Enter your PIN and hold the card up to check the information on the card (the photo shows an app for Android smartphones, but there is also an app for iPhones).
In that respect, the My Number card stored in the iPhone wallet uses biometric authentication by “Face ID” or “Touch ID” when reading the card data . This means that there is no need to worry about your PIN being stolen even when you use it outside.
Face ID in particular is known for its extremely high security, as evidenced by the fact that seven years ago (in 2017) it was discovered that authentication could not be broken even when wearing a mask made with a 3D printer .
Advantage 2: You can find it yourself if it is lost or stolen (remote wipe is also possible)
If a dropped My Number card is picked up by a malicious individual, there is a risk that the card may be misused by replacing the photo, etc. As mentioned above, visually checking the card means that a counterfeit card may slip through the verification process without being noticed.
On the other hand, even if a malicious person were to pick up an iPhone with your My Number card stored on it, they would not be able to use it unless they had the “exact” same fingerprint as you (the owner) or the “exact” same face .
But that’s not all. If you happen to lose your plastic My Number card, you have no choice but to report it to the police station and wait for them to contact you until it’s found, or give up and have it reissued if you can’t find it.
On the other hand, if you have a My Number card stored on your iPhone, you can search for it yourself using the “Find It” feature on your Apple Watch or iCloud . You can search for it by having it ring, or you can check its location using GPS. Even if it’s in an area with no signal or it’s turned off, if you set it to “Lost Mode,” you’ll be able to find out where it is the next time you get a signal.
If you lose your iPhone with your My Number card inside and can’t find it using “Find It,” you can enable “Lost Mode” and it will tell you where it is the next time it gets a signal.
If you are sure that your iPhone has been stolen, you can also perform a remote wipe to prevent any personal information stored on the iPhone from being misused . In the first place, you can’t even access the apps unless you break into Face ID/Touch ID or the passcode.
Once your iPhone is online, you can perform a remote reset to erase all of your data (if you back up your data to iCloud beforehand, you can restore your newly purchased iPhone to the same condition as your lost iPhone).
Just from these two points, you can see that the iPhone My Number card is incomparably safer than a plastic My Number card .
What is the “wallet-free world” that Apple is aiming for?
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