Sri Lankan government partners for biometric KYC, authentication

Seylan Bank has announced a partnership with the Department of Pensions of Sri Lanka which seeks to expedite the process of issuing life certificate to pensioners using biometric authentication, according to an announcement by the financial institution.

The partnership will see the bank incorporate the latest technological systems of the pensions department in the issuance of these certificates, replacing the old system which required pension earners to email documents and sometimes wait long hours in queues to prove their identity, the announcement notes.

A ‘life certificate’ is the document that affirms the life status of a pension beneficiary.

Using fingerprint scanners, Seylan Bank will issue the certificates in a seamless, accessible and efficient manner to users in 75 branches.

Jagath D. Dias, director general of the Department of Pensions, said the innovation is part of their duty to ensure the wellbeing of retirees as people who have rendered dedicated services to the nation: “It is our responsibility to ensure their comfort across all processes. It gives me great pleasure to work with Seylan Bank PLC to provide biometric authentication to all retirees. The facility will assist in obtaining the life certification more quickly. We would like to thank and congratulate Seylan Bank PLC for their assistance in enhancing this process for us.”

Kapila Ariyaratne, director and CEO of Seylan Bank, said the institution is proud to enable biometric authentication for the issuance of life certificates to their customers:

“As this mandatory document must be submitted annually by the retirees, we strongly believe that it has to be facilitated with zero hassle. The partnership with the Department of Pensions has given us the opportunity to serve this mandate and eliminate the hassle from the process of submitting the life certificate.”

The Bank says it is committed to supporting any efforts geared toward ensuring financial freedom and sustainability for senior citizens who have served the nation.

National ICT solutions provider SLT-Mobitel has partnered with Sri Lanka’s Department for Registration of Persons, meanwhile, to facilitate the authentication of customers’ biometric National Identity Cards.

Ada Derana reports that the memorandum of understanding gives SLT-Mobitel access to a know your customer (KYC) authentication service previously used only by financial institutions to reduce fraud.

Article Topics

banking  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint scanners  |  identity verification  |  KYC  |  social security  |  Sri Lanka