Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank operating in over 18 African countries as well as in Asia, Europe, North America and South America, have partnered with iiDENTIFii, a Cape Town-based technology company that enables remote biometric digital authentication and automated onboarding.
By deploying the world-leading iiDENTIFii solution across the bank’s existing product and service offerings, Standard Bank is shifting to branchless banking and meeting customers’ demands for simple, secure and friction-free banking.
This renowned technology also allows all LSMs, irrespective of demographic or location, to enjoy the benefits of latest banking services, which for some, were previously unattainable. Now through digital banking, it puts the customer on a more equitable playing field, by allowing them seamless access to these cost-effective services – anytime, anywhere.
Funeka Montjane, Chief Executive, Personal and Business Banking, South Africa, Standard Bank Group believes that mobile is the new branch. “Working with iiDENTIFii, we can onboard new customers, securely, in under 60 seconds. This empowers the bank to bring its various offerings in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and become a leader in branchless banking”.
In order to provide a more accessible and attractive banking experience, Standard Bank recently launched its pioneering MyMo account – a new low-cost account which rewards customers with free mobile data upon registration. With the iiDENTIFii solution now embedded, customers can securely open this account via their mobile phones without having to go into a branch.
Golden Triangle of Identity
While banks and other financial services providers have raced to digitise their processes, they have been hindered by sophisticated identity fraud. Around the world, up to 1.5 trillion US dollars is generated annually by heinous crimes – and is laundered through financial systems.
While today’s customers are increasingly demanding easy, trusted and frictionless products and services, this demand has to be carefully balanced with the need to safeguard identities and sensitive data.
According to Lance Fanaroff, a director of iiDENTIFii, recent innovations and advancements in digital identity technology are making such a balance very achievable. The iiDENTIFii solution, for one, is able to verify identities with both speed and accuracy that has previously not been possible.
Using a mobile phone and an official identity document, the iiDENTIFii technology platform does four critical things:
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It proves that the person is alive, therefore enabling strong authentication and far outperforming gesture-based & parallax technologies;
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It matches the selfie the user has taken with the image on their ID document;
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The data is then extracted off the identity document – including the person’s name, surname and ID number;
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All the data is then matched with a facial biometric at an issuing authority or government department (i.e. Home Affairs).
“We call this the golden triangle of identity, which allows us to prove that the individual is who they say they are” says Fanaroff. “The ‘Proof of Liveness’ element is key because gesture-based liveness is easy to spoof and our solution quickly identifies the use of software-generated puppets”.
The technology can be integrated into any mobile platform by means of a robust Software Development Kit (SDK), providing the critical ability to customise its functionality according to each institution’s specific requirements.
Notably, iiDENTIFii underwent a rigorous 8-month Proof of Concept process with Standard Bank, during which the technology was stress-tested at scale. iiDENTIFii has been verified as legally compliant by ENSAfrica.
“This solution is not just about the technology” adds Fanaroff. “Given the increasing stringency of data privacy regulations such as PoPIA and GDPR, iiDENTIFii brings customers in line with global data compliance – which, very importantly, includes FICA, KYC, RICA and AML regulations”.
As Standard Bank moves boldly into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the integration of the pioneering iiDENTIFii solution will empower customers with simple, smart and secure banking.
