Biometrics back developing shifts in KYC around the world

Biometrics are central to changes in how KYC is conducted around the world being ushered in by trends towards decentralized identity, as discussed in a webinar featuring Dock, Daon and Youverse, and towards digitization and remote enrollment in the Asia-Pacific region, as discussed by BixeLab and the FIDO Alliance executives. Beyond those two popular stories from the past week, the evolution in KYC is reflected among Biometric Update’s most-read articles in the acquisition of IDVerse by LexisNexis, and the insights on how VCs see the digital identity market for financial services from a partner at Centana.

Top biometrics news of the week

The UK government is weighing legal amendments to allow the use of digital ID and age assurance technology for in-person alcohol purchases, and expand DIATF certification to cover age checks. A consultation published at the beginning of the year is in review, but reportedly receiving support, amid a broader push for voluntary digital identity.

Identity fraud is now the UK’s most commonly experienced type of crime, according to a report from Cifas and RUSI, and support for victims is lacking. One possible legal remedy is making the acquisition of someone else’s identity details illegal, separate from and before their use in the commission of a crime.

Executives from Dock, Daon and Youverse discussed the dramatic potential of verifiable credentials to reshape KYC, age assurance and more over the next four years in an online roundtable. One potential pitfall for decentralized identity is that digital wallets will inevitably be compromised, but this is where biometrics can retain a key security role, says Dock CEO Nick Lambert.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions acquired IDVerse for an undisclosed return, adding face biometrics, liveness detection and ID document authentication to its portfolio two years after its addition of Behaviosec’s behavioral biometrics. IDVerse rebranded from OCR Labs a year ago, and will become part of LexisNexis’ Business Services division.

Malaysia is far from meeting its registrations targets for the national digital ID, drawing a rebuke from PM Anwar stern enough that he later apologized. MyDigital ID has just over a million sign-ups, months after implementing partner Mimos had hoped to reach 10 million.

Changes in digital identity and KYC regulations are sweeping the APAC region, creating an opportunity for businesses that can keep on top of and meet their various requirements. BixeLab’s Ted Dunstone and   of the FIDO Alliance discussed what those requirements are and the standards that underpin them in the latest Biometric Update webinar, which is now available to watch on-demand.

Ghana has launched biometric gates for immigration checks at the country’s biggest airport in Accra with a ceremony presided over by VP Mahamudu Bawumia. Thales partner Margins Group was contracted to install the gates four years ago, Bawumia says, but various stages of the process appear to have been ongoing for years.

Cameroon is still trying to secure a loan to finance its planned live facial recognition rollout, after talks with China Construction Bank Corporation broke down. The government will now attempt to secure $52 million from the Shenzhen branch of China Citic Bank Corporation Ltd to go with another loan from the Hong Kong branch of Banco Santander.

Eric Byunn, co-founder and partner of Jumio-backer Centana Growth Partners tells Biometric Update in an interview that he sees opportunity in a layer of digital identity services that stitches together capabilities into a single solution. The best technologies on the market for identity verification are effective, but KBA remains shockingly prevalent as financial institutions attempt to prioritize user experience.

Nigeria’s ID4D is running an $83 million tender for a system integrator to implement the MOSIP platform and upgrade the country’s digital identity management system and biometric capabilities. A revised procurement plan from the World Bank shows the NIMS 2.0 upgrade is one of the overall project’s last major contracts.

Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry is seeking quotes for 156 fingerprint scanners with the capabilities of specific models from Dermalog and Thales. One of the biometric scanners is a ten-print model used mainly for criminal investigations and issuing digital IDs, while the other is a single-finger scanner with built-in liveness detection.

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Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  week in review