The National Registration Bureau (NRB), with technical support from United Nations Development Programme, developed and implemented a digitally signed biometric QR verification platform as part of Malawi’s National Registration and Identification System (NRIS). The platform enables the secure issuance and verification of digital identity credentials through cryptographically signed QR codes combined with biometric authentication.
Each National ID contains a unique QR code embedded with encrypted identity attributes, including biometric data. The QR code is digitally signed to ensure authenticity and prevent tampering. Verification devices can authenticate credentials locally without requiring continuous connectivity to central databases, enabling secure offline identity verification.
The platform was successfully deployed in Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) to support beneficiary authentication for 1.2 million deserving farmers during agricultural input distribution. At distribution points, verification devices scan the QR code and perform biometric checks to confirm the identity of farmers receiving subsidies.
By integrating secure digital identity verification into subsidy delivery workflows, the system reduces duplication and identity fraud, strengthens transparency and accountability, and improves beneficiary targeting. The initiative demonstrates how Digital Public Infrastructure can support secure, scalable, and trusted public service delivery across government programmes.

https://www.nrb.gov.mw

• Malawi

• Youth
• Older persons
• Women
• Indigenous and nomadic peoples
• People with disabilities
• The unemployed
• The poor
• Remote and rural communities
• Smallholder farmers registered under the Affordable Inputs Programme

The model demonstrates how national digital identity systems can be integrated into sectoral government programmes to enhance transparency and reduce fraud. It is replicable in countries with foundational digital identity infrastructure seeking to modernize subsidy or social protection delivery.

The solution builds on Malawi’s established National Registration and Identification System and is embedded within existing agricultural subsidy programme workflows. Institutional ownership and national policy alignment ensure long-term sustainability.

The project promotes transparency, accountability, secure digital governance, and equitable access to public services. By reducing fraud and strengthening verification mechanisms, it enhances public trust in ICT-enabled government systems.