FNB and ABSA launch fingerprint verification system
Top South African banks ABSA and FNB have both launched the new Department of Home Affairs fingerprint verification interface aka HANIS.
Last week the banks both claimed that they were the first to test and implement the ID verification system, ABSA claimed that they had started their pilot trial beginning last year and say that seven branches have a working system that has already detected fraudulent identities of deceased people.
“Being a customer-centric organisation, Absa will embrace any endeavour that seeks to protect our clients against crimes such as fraud and identity theft,” says Alfred Ramosedi, Absa’s Managing Executive for Face-to-Face Channels.
FNB on the other hand have claimed pole position claiming that over one hundred branches have the fully implemented the system and that their pilot testing phase had started since July 2011.
“It is important to note that the system is not used as a credit scoring tool for our customers but to verify that the person applying for a loan is in fact who they claim to be,” she notes. “Combating identity fraud is everyone’s responsibility. Businesses and Corporate need to play a role and support Government’s initiatives in fighting crime.” says CEO of FNB Smart Solutions, Line Wiid.
There is no information yet about the HANIS system from Standard Bank, Nedbank and others, but you can be sure that they will be releasing a similar press statement when they are ready, you can read the full press releases from ABSA and FNB below,
ABSA press release
Absa today announced that it will be participating in an industry-wide initiative that allows the banks in South Africa to conduct online fingerprint verification of its clients as one of many possible checks before engaging a consumer.
The South African Banking Risk Identification Centre (Sabric) and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) entered into a co-operation agreement in 2007 to jointly address bank-related identity fraud.
In terms of the initiative, the DHA will allow banks access to the Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS) to enable the biometric identification of current and prospective clients. The initiative has been piloted since last year.
“Absa is the first bank to go live with the DHA interface. Primarily, this service enables Absa to verify and authenticate client identity, thus limiting identity fraud.
“Being a customer-centric organisation, Absa will embrace any endeavour that seeks to protect our clients against crimes such as fraud and identity theft,” says Alfred Ramosedi, Absa’s Managing Executive for Face-to-Face Channels.
He adds that during the pilot at seven Absa branches, seven fraudulent cases whereby applicants tried to utilise the identities of deceased persons to open accounts, were detected.
In addition to fraud prevention, the HANIS pilot also indicates many other positive trends.
“From an Absa perspective, this initiative is part of a bigger programme to increase efficiencies in our account opening process, thus making it easier for customers’ to conduct business with the bank. Through this program we also aim to reduce paper consumption as all customer documentation will be electronically stored,” explains Ramosedi.
“This is significant, especially as environmental considerations become increasingly critical to our business processes and practices,” he adds.
“Ultimately, the overall customer experience will be improved,” Ramosedi concludes.
FNB press release
FNB today announced that it has successfully tested and rolled out the Biometric identification and verification system which allows for online verification of customers through their fingerprints in its branches. FNB is the first Bank in South Africa to have the system fully implemented in more than 100 branches nationwide.
The system uses real time fingerprint verification linked to the Home Affairs National Identification System (Hanis) and is currently live in 160 branches. More than 130 of these are FNB EasyPlan branches, the bank’s low-cost banking model.
“We continue to use innovative measures to make banking safe and convenient for our customers – in this instance, by reducing identity fraud,” says CEO of FNB Smart SolutionsLine Wiid.
“With the rise in identity theft it is crucial that we adopt measures that not only protect us as a Bank but also protect our customers. Biometrics verification is one way to build trust with our customers.”
FNB has been piloting Biometric verification in their EasyPlan branch environment since July 2011. “The beauty of the system is that we are not just validating fingerprints against our own database but against the national database held by the Department of Home Affairs. This helps us to ensure data integrity,” adds Wiid.
FNB is using the Biometric verification system for customers who wish to take out finance or open a new account with the bank.
“It is important to note that the system is not used as a credit scoring tool for our customers but to verify that the person applying for a loan is in fact who they claim to be,” she notes. “Combating identity fraud is everyone’s responsibility. Businesses and Corporate need to play a role and support Government’s initiatives in fighting crime.”
FNB has already installed the Biometric verification system in all its 137 EasyPlan branches. In future, all upcoming EasyPlan branches will automatically have the Biometric capability.
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