In a move aimed at enhancing financial inclusion and driving digital payment adoption across Africa, Mastercard has partnered with Smile ID, a leading African digital Know Your Customer (KYC) provider. This strategic collaboration will see the integration of Smile ID’s cutting-edge verification technology into Mastercard’s Merchant Digital Onboarding Program (MDOP), revolutionizing the merchant onboarding process in over 50 African countries, including South Africa and Nigeria.
Streamlining the Onboarding Process
The partnership between Mastercard and Smile ID seeks to address the inefficiencies and challenges associated with traditional merchant onboarding methods. By incorporating Smile ID’s solutions, including ID document verification, biometric face authentication (“SmartSelfie”), and government database checks, the onboarding process will become faster, more secure, and user-friendly.
Benefits for Acquiring Partners and Merchants
Acquiring partners, such as banks, mobile network operators, and payment facilitators, will now be able to onboard merchants more efficiently by reducing the time for onboarding to three minutes or less. This streamlined process will enable small and medium-sized businesses to quickly and easily set up digital payment acceptance, reducing the barriers to entry and driving financial inclusion.
Commitment to Innovation and Collaboration
“Smile ID is thrilled to collaborate with Mastercard because of their commitment to financial inclusion and innovation,” said Mark Straub, CEO of Smile ID. “Our combined offering allows acquiring banks and payment facilitators to delight their customers with locally optimised signup experiences while maintaining global best practices for speed and security.”Sekai Ndemanga, Senior Vice President and Head of Emerging Markets, Global Acceptance Team at Mastercard, echoed these sentiments, stating, “Traditional onboarding methods are often plagued with inefficiencies, high costs, and vulnerabilities to fraud. Our collaboration with Smile ID marks a significant advancement in the merchant onboarding process, setting a new standard for speed, security, and user experience.”
The partnership between Mastercard and Smile ID represents a significant milestone in the quest to accelerate digital payment adoption and foster financial inclusion across Africa. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and streamlining the merchant onboarding process, this collaboration will empower businesses of all sizes to thrive in the digital economy, ultimately contributing to the continent’s economic growth and development.
