Customer Management

Mastercard addresses ID security in Africa and payments ecosystem development in Syria

Mastercard addresses ID security in Africa and payments ecosystem development in Syria

In a busy week for the payments giant, Mastercard has announced an extended digital identity partnership in Africa and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) relating to a national payments ecosystem in Syria.

Late this week, Mastercard announced that it had extended its strategic commercial partnership with Smile ID, an identity verification provider in Africa, to accelerate the rollout of secure digital identity solutions across the continent.

This partnership, it says, will enable banks, fintechs, mobile money operators and other enterprises to onboard new customers faster, reducing identity fraud and expanding access to the financial system.

Mastercard says that the partnership combines its global insights and identity technology, which enables customers to verify digital identity elements, with Smile ID’s data verification and fraud detection capabilities.

It adds that Africa’s digital economy is projected to reach US$1.5 trillion by 2030, arguing that trusted identity solutions are a critical enabler of financial inclusion, fraud prevention and cross-border commerce. Additionally, Mastercard points out, smartphone penetration is continuing to rise, necessitating an urgent need to unlock opportunities for millions through secure identity verification services that work across digital channels.

Through this partnership, Mastercard customers, including banks, telecom providers, mobile money operators and fintechs, can gain access to Smile ID’s advanced identity verification tools. These tools will be integrated into Mastercard’s digital platforms, assisting the enablement of instant, secure onboarding of users across all African markets and enhanced fraud detection and prevention, including prevention of synthetic identity fraud. These tools will also help to support compliance with local and international know your customer/anti-money laundering (KYC/AML) regulations and help to enable scalable solutions for cross-border commerce and digital expansion.

Why Smile ID in Africa? Mastercard says that Smile ID’s integrations with local governments and trusted data sources offer unique capabilities that differentiate this partnership in the region – for example, pan-African reach, near real-time onboarding and integration with Mastercard’s insights.

As part of the agreement, Mastercard has also made a minority investment in Smile ID.

That’s not the only important digital payments-related news from Mastercard in recent days. Earlier this week, Mastercard signed an MoU with the Central Bank of Syria to collaborate on the development of a national payments ecosystem in the country.

This strategic alliance will explore opportunities to expand access to essential financial services for millions of people. It is expected to explore integration opportunities between banks and other financial institutions within Syria in line with global best practices.

Furthermore, it will ensure knowledge transfer on-ground through dedicated training and technical exchanges to build local expertise in digital payments and financial technology.

Follow-up steps will include studying future collaboration opportunities, such as training programmes, technical workshops, and joint initiatives to promote financial inclusion and develop payment infrastructure.



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