Digital signature platforms add selfie biometrics and liveness from Svort, FaceTec

A biometric signing system developed with the support of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan will make it difficult for individuals to append fraudulent signatures on certain official government documents.

The solution comes thanks to SiMA imza, a digital signature certificate platform and AzIntelecom LLC, the state-owned IT and security solutions company, according to an announcement. SiMA’s face biometrics and liveness detection are provided by Svort, through a deal signed in early-2022.

The solution will be useful to access several government services which require a digital signature, the Azerbaijan State News Agency reports, adding that the state tax services has already informed their customers of the introduction of the new functionality.

With the new feature, Svort’s selfie biometric identification using facial recognition and a liveness detection check will be required for anyone logging onto the SiMA mobile app. This will help determine whether the person signing in is the real owner of the account.

Officials have explained that the introduction of the system is part of efforts by the government to fight document signing forgery, which a recent investigation by law enforcement and court officers revealed, is common with financial crimes cases in the country.

It is their hope that with the biometric feature added to SiMA, digital signature fraud will be curbed in other domains including banking and finance, insurance and digital trade. Service providers in these sectors have already been urged to adopt the biometric system.

Plans are also ongoing to link the SiMA imza with the digital tax filing portal, a move that will not only reduce incidents of fraud but also financial cost.

SmilePay, an Azerbaijani startup, launched a biometric payment system using facial recognition in August last year.

VirtualSignature-ID selects FaceTec

UK-based and government-certified digital signature provider VirtualSignature-ID has selected FaceTec to build selfie biometrics and 3D liveness detection into its platform to help small and medium-sized enterprises adopt digital identity verification.

The company’s privacy policy makes clear that FaceTec provides the biometrics capability, while GB Group, Equifax and LexisNexis provide checks of sanctions and other databases.

VirtualSignature-ID’s software is intended to help legal, financial, accountancy and property companies verify the identity of the person signing a document, as well as the witness, in some cases. This verification contributes to anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) compliance of these businesses’ processes.

The announcement refers to the fraud rates and regulatory response that have contributed to the growing demand for digital signature services.

Article Topics

3D liveness detection  |  Azerbaijan  |  AzInTelecom  |  biometric liveness detection  |  FaceTec  |  identity verification  |  selfie biometrics  |  Svort