MTC Verifi Kyc Tool In Relation To Sim Registration

Namibia's Mobile Communications Company (MTC) explainedonTuesdaythisweek,thecollectionofcustomer's biometric information during SIM card registration should notcauseconcern.

According to MTC, VERIFI is a KYC (Know Your Customer) tool which is utilized for KYC purposes and thereby creating a digital customeridentity

The company has announced it has already registered 966 000 subscribersandexpectstoregistertheremaining1.7millioncustomers over the next few months using its biometric system, VERIFY The VERIFY system, despite privacy concerns, will be used to capture customers'imagesandfingerprintsaspartofthecompany'sproactive measuretoclampdownfraudulentactivities."MTChasthustakenthe decision to set VERIFI as a condition of sale for all its services in protectionofitsownbusiness,inanticipationofwherethebusinessis movingtoandmostimportantlyinprotectionofitscustomers. During the course of business MTC has been defrauded by customers presenting false identification documents, with theVERIFI tool such occurrences can be avoided," MTC Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer, Tim Ekandjo said. Ekandjo assured data collected will not be shared with any third parties unless consent is granted and insists VERIFYallows for accurate identification during the SIM card registration process. "Those who fail or not willing to have their face and fingerprint, unfortunately do not complete the registrationprocess,hencetheirservicesmaybediscontinuedwhenthe 12-month period lapses. MTC understands that the provision of biometricdataiscategorisedaspersonaldata,andtheVERIFItoolis operatedintermsofthedraftNamibianDataProtectionBillandfurther adherestotheGDPR(EUGeneralDataProtectionRegulation)andAU Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection. The information obtained via VERIFI will not be shared with any other operatororinstitutionwithouttheexpressconsentofthecustomersas per the draft Namibian Data Protection Bill,AU Convention and the GDPR,"saidEkandjo.

“As adigitalenabler,MTCiscognizantthattheworldandespecially thetelecommunicationsindustryismovingintoadigitalage.MTChas launchedadigitalizationstrategyandtheprocuringofVERIFIisoneof the objectives in moving Namibia into the digital sphere of Telco. VERIFI is a KYC (Know Your Customer) tool which is utilized for KYC purposes and thereby creating a digital customer identity The process for customers to be Verified involves the collection of biometricsdata.”

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