PADI Announces Upcoming Launch of "eCard"

According to the PADI Islands blog PADI is set to launch a new eCard for diver and pro level certifications.

It appears that this new offering will be the first major innovation in certification cards since the launch of the Positive Identification Card bearing a diver's photo many years back.

The new eCard will be integrated into the PADI smartphone app, and will initially be available for Apple iOS, Android and BlackBerry users, with other platforms to follow.

It will have built in security using QR codes, making it very easy to validate the diver and their PADI qualifications.

This will be a huge step forward as holders of a PADI eCard should never have to deal again with the situation of leaving a card at home, and not being able to prove their diving qualifications. It will also reduce the number of small pieces of plastic that we carry in our wallets, and will also be much better for the planet as we move away from plastic to virtual. From a customer point of view, it will speed up the time it takes to receive a certification following successful completion of a course.

I'll post again when I hear any updates about this innovation.

Cross-posted from the DiveViews Blog.