ID document and selfie biometrics adopted by Lithuanian Bank, Canadian province, UK care home, Guatemalan ewallet

Biometric facial recognition technologies for checking ID documents against selfies to onboard customers or verify their identities are being supplied by iDenfy to the Bank of Lithuania, by Yoti for rapid COVID-19 test results at UK care homes, and by Mobbeel to expand financial services availability in Guatemala. New services have also been launched by British Columbia, and partnerships involving Credas and Experian have been announced.

iDenfy supplies the Bank of Lithuania

People in Lithuania can use biometric facial recognition from iDenfy to pass KYC checks when purchasing a digital collector coin from The Bank of Lithuania through a new partnership.

The LBCoin is a blockchain-based digital collector coin, which comes with six randomly chosen digital tokens and can be converted for physical silver coins. The bank will issue 4,000 LBCoins, and therefore 24,000 tokens. The silver coins will have legal tender status in Lithuania, similar to other coins, but will not be a legal means of payment.

Customers can make remote purchases, scanning an ID document and submitting a biometric selfie for analysis by iDenfy. iDenfy supports more than 1,300 ID documents from 200 countries, allowing The Bank of Lithuania to transact with investors from other regions.

“We’re honored that Lithuania’s central bank gives us the opportunity to form the partnership. We are sure that our identity verification service will help to minimize fraudulent activity in the coins’ purchase process,” comments iDenfy CEO Domantas Ciulde.

The company sees positive impact from the partnership in terms of demonstrating leadership in both blockchain and compliant digital identity implementation.

Canadian province launches online service

The Canadian province of British Columbia is offering an ID document and facial biometric check to support online service delivery with a smartphone or tablet, CTV News reports.

There are 17 government services now available through the new BC Services Card service, which involves photo and video identity verification. The government plans to expand the services available through the online service in the future.

Credas and Novia partner

Novia has implemented ID document and facial recognition checks from Credas for verifying the identities of people performing online transactions, according to International Investment.

The real-time biometric service allows Novia clients to perform secure transactions meeting regulatory requirements without the ID copies and bank statements that have previously been used for identity verification.

The company’s operations director noted that its legacy methods had been tested during the lockdown, prompting the adoption of biometric technology.

Yoti test solution trialed in UK care home

Yoti is providing digital ID technology with biometric verification in partnership with GeneMe for a rapid COVID-19 testing solution which is being trialled at a UK care home, CEO Robin Tombs announced with a video posted to LinkedIn.

Test results are delivered to the mobile phone of the individual in less than an hour, according to the post, providing a high level of assurance of their health status before they interact with residents.

Tombs notes that the UK government expressed concern about the possibility of spoofed test results back in April, and was assured by Yoti that its technology can handle that challenge.

The test solution partnership between Yoti and GeneMe was announced in May.

Experian partners for international identity data

Global Data Consortium (GDC) will bring its global network of Consortium Members to Experian’s customer onboarding technology to enable clients to accurately confirm the identity of customers based abroad for KYC and AML regulatory checks. The companies say the solution will enable people who are new to a country to access financial services, such as a bank account, in situations in which the financial service provider would previously have lacked the necessary information to approve the application.

Experian’s research suggests that 70 percent of businesses struggle to confirm clients’ identities without impacting the customer journey, and 53 percent report only “medium-level” certainty in their customer identification.

GDC pulls data from a myriad of sources in more than 50 countries, including electoral and census databases, utility and telecoms records, and credit information for delivery via its cloud-based platform.

Mobbeel biometrics to enable remote financial services in Guatemala

ID card scanning and facial recognition technology with liveness detection from Mobbeel has been selected to enable digital onboarding for Guatemalan electronic wallet Akisi App.

Akisi App is an Android e-wallet providing smartphone-based payments and financial services, including real-time transfers and purchases from affiliated retailers. It increases the availability of these services for Guatemalans, particularly in remote rural areas, according to the announcement. Akisi is a brand of Pronet, which launched the service in partnership with Fundación Génesis Empresarial, which specializes in microfinance for development.

Mobbeel says the project, which is being supported by its local Central American partner Veentrix, strengthens the company’s presence in Guatemala.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  Experian  |  facial recognition  |  financial services  |  government services  |  healthcare  |  iDenfy  |  identity verification  |  KYC  |  Mobbeel  |  Yoti