( CNN ) -- What does it mean to be Nigerian ? That 's the question on the lips of many in Africa 's most populous country as new national identity cards are being rolled out . But this is an I.D . with a difference . The card , which fits into a wallet and comes with a credit-card style chip , can also be used to make electronic payments . Nigerians can use it to deposit funds , receive social benefits , pay for goods and withdraw cash at ATMs across the country , according to MasterCard , which provides the card 's prepaid payment technology . The company also claims that by providing proof of identity , the card solves one of the biggest problems people face when trying to open a bank account . `` To all Nigerians , I say , remember the National Identification Number , is your identity , '' Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan said at the launch of the National Identity Smart Card , or NeID , at the end of August . `` The card is not only a means of certifying your identity , but also a personal database repository and payment card , all in your pocket . '' The card could also be used for voting in the future , while Chris Onyemenam , director general and CEO of the Nigerian Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ) , said that citizens will have `` the potential to use it as an international travel document . '' Earlier this week , finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said 3,000 people had received cards . In order to get the document , Nigerians have to register at one of the NIMC enrollment centers around the country and provide 10 fingerprints , a picture of their face and iris , as well as information about their age and place of birth . Once registered , the NIMC official issues an I.D . number and then the card . Growth opportunity . Nigeria produces more oil than any other African nation , but the World Bank says only about 30 % of the population have a bank account . Given 170 million people live in the country , Mastercard claims to have spotted an opportunity for growth . Research conducted by MasterCard 's consultancy arm says that cash dependency in a country like Nigeria can cost up to 1.5 % of Gross Domestic Product . Given Nigeria has recently recently re-calculated it 's 2013 GDP to a figure of $ 488 billion , making it Africa 's biggest economy , that 's certainly an amount the government is keen to keep a hold of . Card controversy . But not everyone is happy with this pocket-sized one-stop-shop . Human Rights Activist Shehu Sani attacked the scheme on Facebook : . While Eze Onyekpere , lead director at the non-governmental organisation Centre for Social Justice , said the collaboration was not appropriate . `` There should be difference between everyday credit or payment cards and an identity card issued by a sovereign authority , '' he says . `` Even if Mastercard was needed to ensure a good payment system , there is nothing that says it must be heavily embossed on the card . It could guarantee the card without necessarily getting this free advert from 170 million Nigerians . '' Onyekpere has also criticised the way the Nigerian government partnered with the international payments provider . `` The choice of Mastercard did not undergo a competitive selection process , '' he claims . `` It was clearly an abuse of Nigeria 's public procurement process and the selection should have been open to all companies that can provide the service . A MasterCard spokesperson denied the payments company was turning the I.D . card project into a branding exercise . In an emailed statement the company said `` the brand mark is not MasterCard 's corporate logo , nor is it an advertisement for the company . The MasterCard brand displayed on the card is what makes the electronic payment component of the eID card accepted as a means of payment . '' NIMC spokesperson Umar Abdulhamid rejected any allegation of foul play in partnering with MasterCard . `` It 's a level playing field , '' he said In a phone interview . `` Other payment providers have been invited to get involved , but were apprehensive . '' And Daniel Monehin , president of MasterCard 's Sub Saharan Africa division , joined Abdulhamid in dismissing this claim . In a phone interview he said that `` the collaboration went through all the highest levels of government . '' Previous attempts . This is not the first time Nigerian authorities have tried to implement such a card . The idea of a national identity card scheme for Nigeria was first initiated in 1978 , according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs . But successive governments and coups meant the idea did not become a reality . More recently , progress on the provision of identity cards for Nigerians took shape in early 2003 , when some 60,000 centers were set up to register citizens . While the approach to take photographs and fingerprints sought to avoid fraud , an article on the U.N. refugee agency 's website reports that irregularities in the roll-out of the I.D . cards meant that by 2008 the government was planning a new card . A month into this latest identity project there remains no fixed timetable for when the roll out of the initial 13 million cards will be completed . Read more : Africa 's oil and gas : Boom or hype ? Read more : In the driving seat of S. Africa 's economy . More from Marketplace Africa .
Nigerian authorities teamed up with MasterCard to launch a new National Identity card . The card will also be used for electronic payments . Only about 30 % of Nigeria 's population currently has a bank account . Some Nigerians are angry their national identification card carries the bank account .