Selfie biometrics and ID check offerings launched by banks in Russia, UK and Argentina

Biometric selfie authentication services have been launched by several banks around the world to support contactless transactions.

Raiffeisenbank Russia has successfully completed a pilot of facial biometrics for payments with SelfieToPay technology co-developed by SWiP and VisionLabs. The trial was carried out over several months at five locations of the #FARW burger chain, with customers offered a 50 percent discount for their first use of the biometric system.

Customers download the SWiP app, enroll a Raiffeisenbank card, and take a selfie to connect the payment function. Authentication is passive and takes roughly four seconds to identify the individual and associated loyalty program rewards. The process also includes liveness detection for anti-spoofing.

The project had goals of 3 percent adoption by Raiffeisenbank customers visiting the restaurants, with a quarter giving the new payment method a five-star rating. The results were a 4.2 percent adoption rate for SelfieToPay, with a five-star rating from 86 percent, and an additional 4 percent prepared to continue using it.

“We strive to make the experience of using banking services – such as making a payment, for example – as seamless as possible for the client,” said Evgenia Ovchinnikova, head of the technology research and digital innovation department. Goods and services sellers have the same ambition regarding the use of loyalty programs. Although the technological maturity of companies – adherents of this payment method is not yet sufficient for the full use of biometrics as a single identifier for payments, we expect that, together with other initiatives related to the implementation of biometrics in various life processes, the willingness of companies and people themselves will grow markedly in the coming years.”

Russia’s Unified Biometrics System (UBS) is expected to be adopted by 50 banks in the country soon to enable biometric transactions, according to recent reports.

TruNarrative biometrics to support fast, compliant SME lending

B-North has partnered with TruNarrative to provide it with biometric onboarding and compliance technology, which the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lender says will allow it to deliver loans up to ten times faster than large incumbent institutions.

Loans from £500 thousand to £5 million will be available to SMEs in as few as ten days, according to the announcement, with strong ID, biometric verification, risk assesments, credit bureau insights, multi-bureau eKYC, PEP, sanctions and adverse media checks through the TruNarrative platform. The partnership should also help B-North with its pending authorization by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

“B-North unlocks real benefits for businesses by harnessing the best technologies and combining them with our unique regional approach,” comments B-North CEO Jonathan Thompson.

“TruNarrative is a key partner for us in building our tech-focused bank and will be instrumental in helping us deliver fast, informed lending decisions whilst ensuring the highest levels of compliance and a smooth customer experience.”

Argentinian fintech chooses FacePhi biometrics

Facial recognition from FacePhi has been implemented in a new payment app being launched by Nubi Fintech through the Spanish biometrics company’s technology partner Compusistem.

FacePhi’s technology was chosen to manage secure authentication and enhance users’ experience, with new users registering through capturing an identity document and taking a selfie for biometric comparison to the credential. The Nubi Account app will soon be available for Android devices, allowing users to make payments, access a prepaid international Visa card and control expenses from a mobile device without opening or maintenance costs.

Javier Mira, FacePhi CEO, notes that Argentina, where Nubi Fintech is based, remains a growth cornerstone for the company, and FacePhi intends to consolidate its position there while building out its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, where the company recently won its first contract in South Korea.

Article Topics

Argentina  |  banking  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  FacePhi  |  facial recognition  |  identity document  |  Russia  |  selfie biometrics  |  SWiP  |  TruNarrative  |  UK  |  VisionLabs