Banks, fintechs across Europe, UK, UAE and Singapore ramp up biometric onboarding

Financial institutions across the world are introducing selfie biometrics for onboarding customers remotely, including with a new contract for Sumsub and a contract expansion for Onfido.

Onfido partner doubles ID validations in four years

European payment platform Lemonway says that the number of validated ID documents, wallets and accounts has increased two times within the last four years thanks to Onfido. It is now expanding its partnership with the UK-based biometric identity verification provider.

The companies did not disclose the details of the newest deal. Lemonway, which serves marketplaces, alternative finance platforms and other businesses, partnered with Onfido to introduce a Know Your Customer (KYC) solution in 2021. The payment platform serves names such as Renault, Decathlon and SNCF.

Nello Franco, chief customer officer at Onfido, says in a release that the ETSI certification and Onfido’s support for over 2,500 identity documents will help Lemonway scale its business.

In June, Onfido received the certification for the latest European standard for identity proofing and trust services, becoming the first global provider approved by both European standards body ETSI and its UK counterpart DIATF, according to the firm.

UAE bank Mashreq introduces facial recognition onboarding for corporate clients

Mashreq, a digital bank based in the United Arab Emirates, says it has become one of the first banks to enable large corporate banking clients to open bank accounts digitally through facial recognition.

Applicants with valid Emirates IDs can upload signatures through phones and provide consent through a five-second live video feed that authenticates them with facial recognition technology by using the UAE Ministry of Interior database.

The Dubai-headquartered financial institution allowed UAE residents to open a bank account using facial recognition technology last year after signing a deal with the Ministry of Interior.

In June, the country announced a milestone in its UAE Pass digital identity project after registering 5 million digital IDs. The digital ID provides verification, digital signatures and biometric identification.

Singapore bank allows remote account opening for some biometric passports

Singapore’s longest-established bank OCBC will enable biometric passport holders from Malaysia, Indonesia, mainland China and Hong Kong to open their accounts digitally.

The new service is aimed at foreign citizens coming to Singapore to work, study and live. The financial hub has been a popular destination for professionals. New clients will be able to sign up remotely using the OCBC Digital app.

OCBC’s digital onboarding is based on its own proprietary Know Your Customer (KYC) process and its collaboration with OneConnect Financial Technology, an associate of Chinese conglomerate Ping An Group. The bank operates across the Asia-Pacific region and Greater China.

The bank has previously used facial recognition from NEC for in-branch identification, and from iProov for ATMs.

Sumsub nabs another crypto client

Fintech-focused verification platform Sumsub is partnering up with cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io to offer KYC, Know Your Business (KYB), transaction monitoring and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions.

The collaboration will help Gate.io stay ahead of crypto regulation, Gate Group’s founder Han Lin said in a statement. The company says it serves more than 13 million active users worldwide.

Article Topics

banking  |  face biometrics  |  identity verification  |  KYC  |  onboarding  |  OneConnect  |  Onfido  |  selfie biometrics  |  Sumsub