MTN South Africa is beefing up security at customer touchpoints in an effort to fight fraud and make its services more efficient.
The telecommunications operator, which is owned by JSE-listed MTN Group, said on Wednesday that it will deploy a digital ID system with real-time biometrics across all its stores nationwide.
The roll-out follows a six-month pilot in 20% of the company’s stores, where the biometric identification system “significantly improved onboarding efficiency and reduced identity fraud”.
The new system allows for real-time fingerprint and facial recognition during customer onboarding or re-identification, enabling faster processing of contract applications and dramatically reducing the risk of identity-related fraud. This is particularly crucial in an era where Sim swap and identity fraud remain widespread threats, said MTN South Africa executive for customer operations Cornelia van Heerden in a statement.
“This biometric system not only simplifies onboarding; it also assists in fraud prevention.”
The solution was implemented in partnership with Vigilate AI, a global provider of fingerprint, facial and iris recognition solutions. Vigilate AI’s biometric infrastructure ensures the system’s accuracy, scalability and security, MTN said.
Read: SA must tackle Sim card fraud to escape FATF grey list
MTN said customers applying for new contracts will use biometric authentication for “near-instant approval and service activation”. — (c) 2025 NewsCentral Media
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