Short Summary: Identify the evolution of digital ID in Africa and why redefining the identity verification process in 2024 is essential.



With a rise in digitization, Africa will experience the development of digital infrastructures and electronic identity verification systems. Digital banking is a major part of today's world to have seamless work operational cost transfer. Therefore, the African government is focusing on establishing digital payment systems for enhanced business processes both nationally and internationally. The African Union (AU) has focused on developing a digital identification system to cope with this era of electronic media for successful growth and development.

All these strategies to cope with the digital landscape have brought deadly consequences for African countries during both national and international business processing. Imposters actively use sophisticated machine learning-based strategies to breach business structures and perform financial terrorism. Hence, reliable solutions are primarily needed to overcome prevailing fraud.

A Brief Introduction: Digital ID Verification in South Africa

South Africa's identity coverage makes great strides in digitizing the ID verification system with smart identity cards. It enables firms to integrate systems with other departments to have shared databases and records for a reliable ID verification process.

COVID-19 accelerated the development of digitization in Africa and compelled state governments to establish digital ID systems. It not only enhanced business processing but also improved government service deliveries during the pandemic in 2020. It facilitated government agencies to identify communities that need social help and assist them efficiently regarding e-businesses and other protections. Afterwards, digital IDs serve to comprehend business and have immense global growth.

Why is it Necessary to Redefine ID Verification Technology in Africa?

Nowadays, imposters actively use machine learning technology to generate fake ID documents like smart identity cards, licenses, and passports. These fake documents are unable to be detected through the human eye in manual verification processes. Employing reliable techniques to verify entities and secure business operations from criminal attacks is mandatory.

Legal authorities design Know Your Customer [KYC] regulations to protect organizations from network breaches and criminal attacks. Online KYC involves artificial intelligence and machine learning mechanisms to cross-check data over various interlinked electronic records and databases. Therefore, it is necessary to redefine security protocols and secure the business landscape from criminal attacks in Africa.

How can Africa Spot Fake IDs for a Seamless Business Landscape?

It is essential to use digital ID verification and risk assessment methods to secure business operations and the working landscape in Africa. Latest ID verification may include:

Know Your Customer (KYC)

Know Your Customer is designed for businesses and sectors to verify their customers and users to access their risk association. It helps organizations to deter fraud attacks and illegitimate users onboard. Now KYC verification is performed automatically through AI and ML mechanisms. It facilitates organizations with real-time client identity verification processes for both national and international business processing in South Africa.

Know Your Business (KYB)

In Africa, the digital Know Your Transaction [KYT] process eliminates business decline and fraud through AI and ML pre-trained algorithms. This process provides enhanced security against shell companies and businesses associated with money laundering. It allows businesses to verify their partners and categorize risk associations to secure business operations. The Digital KYB process is designed with the highest standards of ID verification for enhanced business security and protection.

Know Your Transaction (KYT)

Digital Know Your Transaction (KYT) processes allow firms to monitor transactions in real-time and detect suspicious activities through robust technological mechanisms. It protects financial sectors and businesses from financial terrorism and payment breaches. Businesses are required to integrate KYT compliance to overcome financial losses and have enhanced customer experience.

Face ID Check

Face ID check provides an intuitive way for verification of identity through a person's facial traits. It allows firms to detect individual faces and verify legitimacy by cross-checking along various public and private databases. Individual facial data is captured and analyzed automatically through face scanners. It helps organizations to have biometric face verification to mitigate ID theft and spoofing attacks. Many criminals generate deep fakes to access organizations for illicit activities. Facial scanners allow 3D depth analysis of provided face data and verify individuals through deep learning mechanisms.

Database Check Process

Companies use database cross-matches to validate entities through multi-layered security protocols. For example, information obtained through ID documents is cross-linked with data stored in various public and private databases. With the rise in financial terrorism, it is mandatory to have enhanced security protocols. Database cross-matching helps businesses to identify criminals by associating links with mugshot records.

Digital Document Verification Method

Manual methods of data collection and validation are now outdated. They require extensive human efforts to verify bulks of data. The digital document verification process allows businesses to use automated technology for document verification.

This process employs optical character recognition (OCR) technology to fetch data from scanned documents and convert it into machine-readable form. It facilitates both users and corporations to use remote document submission and data collection processes. Now individuals are free to submit scanned images of ID documents and verify themselves remotely.

What are the Stages for Implementing Digital ID Systems?

Digital IDs are issued by both government and private sectors in Africa, like UIN on a Smart ID card, banks, and insurance companies. These IDs are based on individual digital footprints and personae to portray themselves through various platforms. It helps firms to have interrelated databases of individual data. The process of digital ID generation is carried out in the following five stages;

Stage 1

The first date of creating a digital ID involves the conversion process. Individual paper-based IDs are converted into digital forms through scanning.

Stage 2

In the second stage, the identity management process is digitized systematically. It involves using computer and internet networks to successfully digitize ID documents.

Stage 3

In the third stage, individual biographical data such as fingerprints, voice prints, facial expressions, and face images are collected, captured, and recorded. All the obtained data is stored to be interlinked.

Stage 4

In the second, last, and fourth stages, credentials such as smartcards and barcoded cards are issued to be used for the ID verification process. It is interlinked with databases which are now automatically matched through AI and ML algorithms embedded in KYC process, KYB, KYT, and ML processes.

Stage 5

The fifth and final stage allows future developments. It allows future innovations regarding more precise and accurate ID verification technology, such as electronic identity verification methods.

All these stages allow innovations for future ID verification and provide an opportunity to integrate digital ID in automated security protocols. For example, organizations now use facial scanners and other biometric ID verification for enhanced security compliance.

Final Words

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a revolution in the digital landscape has appeared to process businesses digitally. The government of South Africa focuses on digital IDs to perform all operations seamlessly. But with rising criminal strategies, upgraded KYC, KYT, KYB, AML, and Face ID check technology are primarily needed to verify entities before having them onboard. It provides security against identity theft, network breaches, financial terrorism, and criminal attacks.


Author Bio: Chris Harry is fond of exploring the technological advancements happening around the globe. He loves writing on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and spreading the words for his readers.