Smile ID, Africa’s foremost provider of identity verification and AML compliance solutions has released the 2024 Nigeria eKYC Report, the country’s first dedicated analysis of its kind. This pioneering report sheds light on Nigeria’s strides in digital identity verification, emphasising major milestones and the accelerating adoption of biometric and NIN-based verifications. These achievements reinforce Nigeria’s position as a trailblazer in ID verification across Africa over the last two years.
In tandem with this release, Smile ID has hit a historic benchmark: 200 million identity verifications completed.Remarkably, this milestone comes just 11 months after reaching 100 million checks—a feat that previously took 7 years.
Pioneering Digital Identity in Nigeria
The 2024 Nigeria eKYC Report underscores the country’s progress in creating robust, inclusive identity systems. The increasing reliance on biometric verification and the National Identification Number (NIN) highlights the shift toward more secure, efficient, and fraud-resistant verification methods.
“Our rapid growth from 100 million to 200 million verifications in less than a year underscores the increasing demand for secure and reliable identity verification across industries,” said Shile Owoka, Executive Director at Smile ID. “Our latest eKYC report highlights the pivotal role of biometric and NIN-based verifications in fostering trust, driving financial inclusion, and enabling business growth.
The report also highlights the pivotal role of the NIN system as businesses pivot away from alternative ID types, establishing NIN as the foundation of Nigeria’s eKYC processes. Biometric verification, on the other hand, continues to play a critical role in fortifying security and trust in the digital economy.
“Nigeria’s advancements in digital identity verification showcase the transformative impact of inclusive and innovative solutions. Our eKYC report highlights the growing trust in biometric and NIN-based verifications, empowering businesses to scale securely and efficiently. At Smile ID, we’re dedicated to sustaining this progress by delivering reliable, user-centric solutions that simplify KYC processes and unlock growth opportunities across different industries.” Peace Itimi, Director of Marketing at Smile ID added.
Key Highlights from the Report:
The findings in this report provide a vital resource for policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders as Nigeria continues to strengthen its digital infrastructure. By fostering trust and innovation, the nation sets a benchmark for eKYC practices across Africa.
The 2024 Nigeria eKYC Report is now available for download here.
About Smile ID
Smile ID is Africa’s leading digital KYC provider and was founded to solve the specific challenges faced by companies trying to onboard users in unique African conditions. They have built proprietary machine learning algorithms and a technology platform to cater for all skin tones, entry-level devices and users operating in low bandwidth environments.
Smile ID prides itself on striking the right balance between stopping fraudulent transactions and reducing onboarding friction and has enabled some of the fastest-growing businesses across Africa to onboard at scale. Their client base includes Flutterwave, Fairmoney, Binance, Uber, Bolt, Kuda Bank, Opay, Paystack, Luno, Yellowcard, and hundreds more.
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