VerifyMe Nigeria, an identity management and work history reporting platform, has commended the recent directive by the National Communication Commission (NCC) that registration for new Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards will now require the presentation of the National Identity Number (NIN).
The NCC had made the directive at the just concluded conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), where it explained that this was part of efforts “towards engendering the security of lives and property for the economic development of the country.”
Reacting to this new directive, Esigie Aguele, CEO of VerifyMe Nigeria, noted that integrating NIN into the SIM registration process was a welcome development as it would enhance growth in both the ID verification and telecommunications industries by deepening trust among stakeholders across the value chain.
‘The NCC directive demonstrates that identity management is the foundation of sustainable security that will promote growth in all industries by increase customer throughput and reducing costs to acquire customers during on-boarding. VerifyMe in anticipation of NCC’s actions has an available platform for all Telco’s to fit into their customer acquisition process,” Aguele said.
With a population of over 190 million, the number of active telephone lines in the country is currently at 175 million representing a tele-density of 91.65 percent. Internet users stand at 122.6 million while broadband penetration is 35 percent. Overall, total investment in the Nigerian telecoms sector is over $70 billion with 11.39 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) coming from the sector alone.
Aguele said that against the background of such significant investment and the pervasive impact of the sector on both the national economy and everyday life of citizens, it is only reasonable to put in place regulatory interventions that will ensure that Nigeria has credible subscriber data.
“As partners to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the government body responsible for the issuance of national identity numbers, VerifyMe Nigeria has been at the forefront of redefining the ID Verification space in Nigeria leveraging technology. Supporting this is our guarantee that our data is trusted and secure, with inbuilt technology surveillance systems to prevent fraud during data collection. Our goal is to solve the trust issue so businesses can process and deliver more real-time services to their customers while making the verification process painless and efficient,” he said.
Founded in 2013, VerifyMe recently launched its self-Managed Verification Platform (MVP) which is the first integrated platform offering wholistic identity multi-factor verifications in Nigeria. The MVP delivers real time ID authentication with secure last mile verification checks that meet CBN tier 3 and international Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directive standards.
Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson
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