Trulioo, the leading global identity verification provider, today announced that it is now able to verify customers in Nigeria and Ghana through GlobalGateway, its marketplace of identity data and services.
GlobalGateway coverage in Nigeria and Ghana will help financial institutions accurately and efficiently verify the digital identities of consumers in countries that often lack traditional ID documentation, thus easing access to financial services they otherwise could not obtain.
Nigeria and Ghana have taken significant steps toward increasing access to digitization services, including ID verification. More financial service providers in these countries are beginning to deploy Know Your Customer (KYC) technologies in their digital channels and both countries have pushed forward digital addressing systems to ease mail delivery: Ghana launched GhanaPostGPS in 2017 and Nigeria teamed up with UK-based What3Words in the same year.
However, despite 69 percent of the world’s adults owning a financial account, up 7 points since 2012, according to the World Bank, most of sub-Saharan and West Africa trail behind the global average. In Ghana, 62 percent of adults 25 and older own an account and just 44 percent of adult Nigerians do.
“While many African countries have made great strides in their national digital identity programs, far too many of the continent’s residents face barriers when attempting to access financial services,” said Zac Cohen, COO of Trulioo. "Financial institutions are reluctant to do business with citizens who lack a verified digital identity, as it can put them at risk of compliance violations, which in turn constricts citizens' connection to the global economy.”
A lack of ID documentation was the primary barrier to access of financial services, cited by 26 percent of unbanked individuals in low-income countries. Despite attempts within Nigeria and Ghana to develop a modern digital identity framework, accessibility to ID systems and services remains low and fragmented. In Nigeria, just 4 percent of Nigerians are currently enrolled in its ambitious ID program formed in 2014. In Ghana, ID documentation rates are stronger, yet fewer than 60 percent of residents hold a Ghana Card, the physical and digital document of its national ID program, even though children are issued personal identification numbers at age 6. As a result, many residents of Nigeria and Ghana have limited access to basic financial services.
With this extension, the combined 220 million residents of the two countries can save money safely, start building credit and even out cash flow to better handle emergencies. This expansion of coverage helps further the Trulioo mission to provide cross-border Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)-compliant identity verification for every individual around the globe.
“Extending our verification capabilities to two highly populated African countries will help bring many underbanked residents into the digital economy and enable financial institutions to safely and accurately know who they’re doing business with,” continued Cohen.