Nigerian Military Turns to FacePhi to Distribute Pension Benefits

FacePhi is starting to make in-roads in the African market. The Spanish identity provider has agreed to provide onboarding services for the Nigerian Armed Forces, which will be using the technology to help distribute pension benefits to veterans.

Moving forward, retired military personnel will be able use their smartphones to register in the pension program remotely. FacePhi’s solution will first ask veterans to take a photo of an official ID card, analyzing the characters on the surface to make sure the card is authentic. After that, users will need to take a selfie, and FacePhi will match that picture to the image on the ID.

Afrilight Technologies will act as FacePhi’s local integration partner for the project. The arrangement with the Nigerian Armed Forces is FacePhi’s first with a public agency in Africa, and indicates that the company is hoping to continue its international expansion and build on its successes in Asia and Latin America.

The veterans themselves will be able to access their pension benefits through the new FacePhi system. The various partners are hoping that the program will help mitigate the threat of fraud, and boost internet adoption rates in Africa in the wake of COVID-19.

“The use of biometric systems to access banking and financial services is becoming more and more common among senior users, as this technology allows access to digital spaces in a comfortable and very intuitive way,” said FacePhi CEO Javier Mira. “Boosting digitalization processes through biometrics has a positive social impact, as it helps to ensure that the elderly are not left behind in the use of certain services, helping to close a digital divide that is especially pronounced on the African continent.”

FacePhi’s technology has previously been used to facilitate pension payments for senior citizens in Argentina. The company recently partnered with Revelock to offer behavioral biometrics services to its customers in the financial sector.

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June 25, 2021 – by Eric Weiss