Last spring, Miia Rinne, who lives in Eastern Finland's Lappeenranta, ordered new ID cards for herself and her son, who attends a vocational school.
When their new IDs arrived, Rinne said she was surprised to see the cards no longer had barcodes on them. Instead, they have QR codes.
That's because when the National Police Board rolled out the new cards in the spring of 2023, they opted for the black-and-white square-shaped codes, in lieu of older barcode technology.
But a number of public and private outfits in Finland can't read the new QR codes, because they haven't upgraded their code scanners yet.
According to Rinne, her new ID card couldn't be scanned by local health and dental clinics.
Similarly, the cafeteria at her son's school was also unable to scan the new ID. In order to get the free meals to which he is entitled, he was told to carry his (Social Insurance Institution of Finland) Kela card or passport.
Rinne pointed out that a passport is bulky and her son's ended up crumpled in the bottom of his backpack after a month.
Some retailers that use identification cards in customer loyalty programmes haven't upgraded their scanners either. At least that is currently the case at auto parts and hardware retailer Motonet.
However, some firms are prepared for the new IDs, including postal firm Posti and private healthcare outfit Mehiläinen, for example.
"Every Finn has a Kela card"
But Compass Group, which runs Oulu Vocational College's (OSAO) restaurant services, has not made the switch.
But it is not a major issue, according to Marika Penttilä, the restaurant manager at OSAO's Kotkantie campus.
Penttilä said she does not feel the scanning system needs immediate updating because students who have a right to free meals can verify their identity in other ways.
"Every Finn has a Kela card. I've [told students] to take a picture of their cards' barcode, so they always have it with them," Penttilä said.
Students can also verify their identity with a drivers' licence or some student cards. If needed, they can also use the school's Wilma platform for verification, according to Penttilä.
Depending on the situation, prices for a new ID card vary quite a bit. When they are applied for electronically, they cost 52 euros.
IT firm: Known issue
A healthcare industry IT services firm, Axel Health, is familiar with the new ID cards. Among other things, the company sells scanners used by healthcare centres and hospitals to check in clients.
The company offered its opinion at an early stage to the National Police Board when it was planning the new IDs, according to the firm's CEO, Toni Hirvonen.
"The problem is that the [new] card has a different code on each side, and they're different. So how do customers know which code to use in which situation?" Hirvonen pondered.
Axel Health has sold around a thousand devices capable of scanning QR codes to a number of wellbeing services counties in Finland. But, Hirvonen was unable to precisely say how many other counties have updated their scanners, because each one handles such matters differently.
"I believe that a number of wellbeing services counties are still using scanners that can't read the new ID cards," he said.
Police Board: Some slow to change
The National Police Board was also somewhat taken aback by how many organisations and companies may still be using barcode scanners, according to Mika Hansson, a senior adviser at the board.
He said the board has tried to let firms and organisations know about the scanner requirements so that upgrades would happen as smoothly as possible.
"Some companies and organisations react to change slowly. I have understood that the situation should be pretty good at the moment," Hansson said.
The Police Board has received little feedback about problems related to scanning the new IDs, he noted, adding that those issues will ease as organisations upgrade their systems.
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