Integrated Biometrics helps Mexican financial services organizations meet security mandate

Integrated Biometrics reports that its rugged, mobile, FBI-certified 10-print fingerprint scanners have become the standard for Mexican financial services organizations looking to meet the CNBV 2018 biometric security mandate to protect customer privacy and prevent identity theft, fraud and money laundering.

The regulatory mandate comes from the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores’ (CNBV), an independent agency of Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit, which holds technical autonomy and executive powers over the Mexican financial system. Affected organizations must meet its requirements by the end of August, although organizations may apply for a nine-month extension.

CNBV requires that Mexican financial institutions except for credit unions and smaller banks, as well as select government agencies, provide multifactor biometric authentication for new accounts, including credit cards, checking, savings, payroll and loans. Fingerprinting is the preferred biometric method due to widespread use in the country’s voter registration databases.

Customers enroll all 10 fingers to open an account. Combined with biographical information, the government matches these fingerprints with national databases to verify each applicant’s identity. Successful validation enables the financial organization to open the account, and for the customer to use fingerprint-based identification to ensure that only authorized users may access the funds.

“Mexico is at the forefront of the movement to use technology to prevent fraud and money laundering, and to increase social inclusion across Latin America,” explains Stephen Thies, CEO of Integrated Biometrics. “Our solutions providers and distributors in Mexico recognize the value, reliability, and user-friendly performance our products bring to their participation in these programs.”

According to Marcos Martinez, president of the Mexican Banking Association, this billion-peso investment in technology is what banking institutions are willing to spend to reduce identity theft within the Mexican financial system and to provide powerful incentives for individuals to move cash assets into the formal banking system by increasing the security and integrity of deposits.

Mexican financial services organizations currently using Integrated Biometrics fingerprint scanners include: Pension ISSSTE, BBVA Bancomer, InverCap Afore, Principal Afore, Afirme, Santander, CitiBanamex, Sura, BanRegio, MetLife Afore and Banca Mifel.

Just last week Integrated Biometrics joined the International Biometrics + Identity Association (IBIA).

Article Topics

data protection  |  financial services  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  identity verification  |  Integrated Biometrics  |  Mexico