Bank ABC partners with Jumio to become first Middle East bank to employ biometric-based digital KYC functionality

Bank ABC’s partnership with Jumio streamlines digital onboarding, eliminating the need for customers to visit branch offices when creating new banking accounts

Jumio, a leading AI-powered trusted identity as a service provider, has announced a partnership with Bank ABC, one of the MENA region’s leading international banks.

The partnership enables Bank ABC’s new mobile-only bank to compliantly on-board new individual customers using Jumio’s biometric-based identity verification solution.

Based in Bahrain, Bank ABC currently serves customers on five continents, covering countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Bank ABC plans to launch one of the region’s first digital banks and has invested in establishing digitised operations including a fully digital KYC capability. Simplifying and streamlining the on-boarding process is central to these efforts.

Traditionally, it takes consumers one to two weeks to create a new account and requires them to visit a local branch in person to complete the account set-up process.

“Bank ABC is committed to leveraging the benefits of AI technologies to create seamless customer journeys for accessing banking services securely,” said Sael Al Waary, Bank ABC’s Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer.

Earlier this year at the third Middle East and Africa FinTech Forum, Al Waary said: “Across the region, banks and other financial institutions are facing enormous disruption from technology. But change should be embraced, not feared. Technology will revolutionise the way we do business. More importantly, it will empower people across the region, and be a force for true inclusion.”

Yousif Almas, Group Chief Digital Officer at Bank ABC, said: “We’re proud to be the first bank in the Middle East to leverage face-based to streamline the KYC and identity-proofing processes.

“As more and more customers move online and transact via their mobile devices, it’s critical for Bank ABC to deliver a simple, fast and intuitive onboarding experience that takes minutes, not hours or days.”

Bank ABC’s integration of Jumio’s Identity Verification enables the bank to verify online customers by having them first capture a picture of their government-issued ID with a smartphone and then take a selfie, with certified liveness detection functionality.

This process ensures that the user is who they claim to be and physically present during the transaction. As Bank ABC expands digital operations globally and in the MENA region, Jumio will support such growth with its ability to verify IDs digitally across geographies.

“Jumio is excited to partner with Bank ABC and help the company revolutionise digital banking in the Middle East,” said Robert Prigge, Jumio President. “We’re happy to contribute to their mission of delivering a level of service that matches, or exceeds, the market practice internationally by providing the leading-edge identity verification services that vet the digital identities of new customers – quickly, securely and compliantly.”