Digital ID potential grows exponentially in Africa, helps fight financial crime

African countries are rigorously working towards providing Digital ID (digital identity) to their citizens.

Except for Zimbabwe, Digital ID has received a lot of attention in Africa. African governments have committed to a whole new approach to the digital economy by harnessing the benefits of Digital ID so as to aid e-commerce, financial inclusion and greater access to financial services. Additionally, they realize that Digital ID will help them fight financial crime, tackle fraud and money laundering by giving Central Banks and regulators access to a transparent, real-time and centralized system for transactions.

South Africa reported 66,000 cases of fraud in the first quarter of 2019, the majority of which involved identity theft. WhoYou app was subsequently adopted to allow for the photo of someone’s two thumbprints to be uploaded and sent to the country’s Department of Home Affairs’ National Population Register for verification. Using South Africa as a successful case study, Zambia has successfully captured the population’s biometrics to match Know-Your-Customer requirements. Tanzania’s National Bank of Commerce is pioneering the use of Digital ID for customers to open an account within minutes. Leading the pack, however, is Kenya’s Huduma Namba mass registration exercise. The system has successfully registered close to 40 million Kenyans and foreign nationals’ residing in Kenya to help the country adopt a trusted national source of Digital ID and helping the country fight financial crime. As a result, a new commercial opportunity for mobile money is emerging in the country, set to augment M-PESA and other mobile payment systems within Kenya’s innovative financial services sector.

Helping countries in Africa and globally fight identity fraud and financial crime is Refinitiv’s Qual-ID, a new solution combining Digital ID verification with risk screening to help improve the digital onboarding of consumers and compliance with Know-Your-Customer and anti-money laundering regulations in Africa and around the world. Qual-ID is the result of a partnership between Refinitiv and Trulioo, first announced earlier in 2019 and is designed to improve the consumer experience while helping to protect against fraud and money laundering.

Onboarding customers using Digital ID is a growing trend in Africa. First National Bank in South Africa is perfecting onboarding customers using Digital ID. The bank has made it possible for customers to open an account with just a selfie by pairing up with the South African Department of Home Affairs’ Digital ID verification process. Digital ID is also making it possible for cryptocurrencies such as blockchain and other types of distributed ledger technology to thrive in countries like South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, and Nigeria.

Qual-ID enables companies in these emerging markets and sectors to confidently tap into this potential by supporting a fast and secure way to digitally onboard consumers through a combination of Refinitiv’s World-Check Risk Intelligence and Trulioo’s digital identity network. It enables organisations to verify identities against trusted data sources, proof legal documents, conduct anti-impersonation checks, and screen for regulatory and financial risk; such as sanctions, PEPs and adverse media. The best part is the system’s ease of use as the process, comprising a three-step approach, can be completed in one transaction and via a single point of access.

Already, Qual-ID has generated interest globally and this trend is setting sail to the shores of Africa. For more information on how Qual-ID can help your organization, visit www.refinitiv.com/qual-id