August 16, 2022 – Smile Identity, the leading pan-African identity verification provider has today published its inaugural report on the State of KYC report H1 2022 where they delve into the different KYC processes as well as fraud trends they have noticed in Africa.
They are using their data to understand different trends across the continent and how these affect business, as well as regulators.
The “Know Your Customer” (KYC) process is a requirement that helps businesses identify their users and verify their credentials. KYC allows companies to identify risks associated with individual customers before they happen. Central banks often require KYC checks to prevent financial crimes like money laundering. For fintechs, online payments companies and ecommerce, KYC can prevent fraud.
Some insights from the report:
- Fraud attempts increased by 30% in the first half of 2022
- Half of biometric fraud cases were related to identity theft, the other half includes more sophisticated spoofing attacks
- A new type of fraud that is emerging and has already reached ~10% levels is Duplication Fraud
- Countries with lower adoption of biometric IDs may notice fluctuations in fraud as less modern systems provide more avenues for attack
- ID database outages have averaged at 9% of the time, disrupting the ability to verify people and businesses to scale
- Fraudsters are more frequently targeting buy now pay later platforms. BNPL and investment & savings experience more than 30% biometric fraud
“We have seen fraud attempts consistently grow over time, in the last year it has grown to 26% of all KYC checks alone. Businesses across the continent are becoming more aware of their vulnerabilities and turning to partners like us for assistance in preventing and detecting fraud on their platforms. Our technology, which was specifically designed for Africa, provides immense value to our clients, and we are constantly evolving and improving our systems to easily detect newer types of fraud at all levels of sophistication. “ Navid Scheybani, Chief Growth Officer, Smile Identity
To get a deep dive into the State of KYC report you can download it here or get more information on their website.
About Smile Identity
Smile Identity is the leading identity verification and digital Know Your Customer (KYC) provider for Africa. We help companies scale rapidly across Africa by confirming the true identity of their users in real time, using any smartphone or computer. Our technology is powered by proprietary Machine Learning algorithms designed specifically for African faces and identities. We have developed solutions for identity verification, digital KYC, user onboarding, biometric authentication and anti-fraud checks. Backed by Costanoa, CRE Venture Capital, Khosla Impact, LocalGlobe and Angel Investors from across Africa, Smile Identity is enabling the growth of tech ecosystems across the African continent while providing infrastructure to build trust online. For more information, please visit www.smileidentity.com.