 Hi, I'm Kimbley Stomatis and I'm the convener of the APEC Business Mobility Group. I'm excited to welcome you to the new Virtual APEC Business Travel Card, also known as the Virtual ABTC, a new and secure method for traveling on your ABTC. The Virtual ABTC has been developed to allow approved card holders from fully participating APEC member economies to securely display their ABTC on their smart device, removing the need to carry a physical ABTC. It transitions the ABTC scheme into the modern and digitized era of global trouble. The Virtual ABTC also employs additional security features for greater security and confidence, including generating a unique application number for all newly approved ABTC applicants and ensuring that their credentials are authenticated and verified when logging on to the Virtual ABTC app. To access and use the Virtual ABTC, applicants must be approved ABTC holders from a fully participating APEC member economy whose home economy provides access to the Virtual ABTC for its card holders. All economies, including transitional member economies, will accept the Virtual ABTC for use at international ports of entry from 1 March 2021. Each economy will determine its own timeline in transitioning to the use of the Virtual ABTC for its card holders. It is important to note that the Virtual ABTC is simply a digital version of the physical card. Therefore, current entry and exit processes remain the same, regardless of whether a card holder is using their Virtual ABTC or the physical card. As an ABTC holder passes through an international port, they will be required to either present their Virtual ABTC on their smart device using the Virtual ABTC app or their physical card. As the Virtual ABTC is linked to the ABTC system, any changes and updates to a card holder's ABTC status will be reflected in real time on their Virtual ABTC. So once pre-clearance to enter an economy has been added, this will be immediately updated and displayed on the Virtual ABTC. This allows card holders to begin using their ABTC right away and without having to wait for every economy to provide their pre-clearance assessment. If a card holder's application for an ABTC has been cancelled by their home economy, they will no longer be able to access the Virtual ABTC on their smart device. It is important before travelling for card holders to ensure that their ABTC remains valid for their entry, departure and the duration of their stay in the economy they intend to travel to. This is easy to do by opening the Virtual ABTC on their smart device and looking at the clearance status for each economy. The information here is updated and displayed automatically when a card holder is connected to the internet. Card holders can also check the status online using the ABTC pre-clearance status tracker, which can also be accessed by clicking on the link in the Virtual ABTC app. The Virtual ABTC's connectivity to real-time data is dependent on an internet connection on the card holder's smart device. However, if card holders are unable to connect their smart device to the internet while travelling, they will still be able to display the most recently updated information for their Virtual ABTC on arrival at the destination economy. This is because the ABTC status and pre-clearance information from the last time the card holder logged on and accessed the Virtual ABTC app, typically on departure, is stored within their smart device for a period of time. The Virtual ABTC also displays the date and timestamp of the card holder's last log-on and refresh. To ensure this stored information is as accurate as possible, it is important that card holders log in to the Virtual ABTC app as close as possible to their departing flight and keep their smart device sufficiently charged. Card holders can easily access links to additional information, including frequently asked questions and the APEC.org website and terms and conditions for the Virtual ABTC in the app. If card holders experience any difficulties with a Virtual ABTC, lose their smart device or there is missing or incomplete information on their Virtual ABTC, they are advised to contact their home economy in the first instance. For any technical issues with the use of the Virtual ABTC and the app, please contact the Office of the APEC Business Mobility Group convener by emailing APEC at homeaffairs.gov.au