Winning.I, Svort each launch biometric IDV initiatives for remote govt, financial services

South Korean biometrics and fintech authentication firm Winning.I has announced a national development research project for a non-face-to-face identification system which it hopes to expand into financial institutions across Southwest Asia, as U.S. and Belarus-based Svort partners with the government of that country to bring biometric digital signatures on smartphones as a digital identity verification method across the country at the state level.

Winning.I commences remote identification research project

Winning.I is conducting a national research project in South Korea to develop a non-face-to-face identification system for administrative tasks like renewing a driver’s license that currently require face-to-face contact to improve accessibility for financial and administrative services across Southwest Asia.

The South Korean biometrics company notes the acceleration of non-face-to-face financial services and fintech in Southwest Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and says it will be useful for business models like electronic know your customer (eKYC) established by the government for low-income financial support programs.

Currently, Winning.I offers ‘iFING’, an app for contactless fingerprint biometric capture on mobile devices.

“Based on the technology of this research project, we will closely co-work with our global partners in UK, South Africa, Pakistan, Nepal and many other countries to provide interoperability between legacy fingerprint template and contactless-method-captured identifying fingerprint,” says Woo Young Chung, CEO of Winning.I. He concludes, “I hope that it will contribute to providing economic benefits and help to 1.2 billion people who do not have bank accounts through successful integration with fingerprint databases in Southwest Asian countries.”

Azerbaijani government partners with Svort for digital transformation

Svort, a face biometrics provider based in the U.S. and Belarus, has announced a partnership with the government of Azerbaijan and AzInTelecom for a biometric digital signature applicable at the state level.

The program called ‘SİMA’ is described as a biometric digital identity stored on a smartphone that eliminates the need for passwords or specialized devices. Svort states in a press release that SİMA verifies identities using a database and can be used anywhere at the state level. Elkhan Azizov, interim chairman of the board of AzInTelecom, says SİMA will be launched and will be available to citizens in the near future.

SİMA was created through a public-private partnership. The Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan participated in the project, to which Rashad Bayramov, adviser to the minister comments, “The new product will accelerate the digital transformation in Azerbaijan and stimulate the use of online services.”

Svort says the biometric digital signature will reduce costs and time loss, register citizens quickly and enhance security and convenience for tasks like opening a bank account remotely or submission of documents to government agencies without face-to-face interaction.

Eugene Mintsevich, CEO of Svort says, “At SVORT, we do believe that our security solutions based on anonymous facial neural-biometrics are a catalyst for the entire ecosystem of digital life and a global paradigm shift. We hope that future years of close cooperation will allow us to provide simple and, most importantly, secure access to the digital products of the state. Our mission is to give every citizen the opportunity to easily and safely receive all necessary services.”

Azerbaijan has issued biometric documents previously. The country offered biometric-based identity cards in 2018.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  digital identity  |  face biometrics  |  fingerprint recognition  |  identity verification  |  mobile app  |  remote verification  |  WINNING.I