Mobile banking stands out as a great example of how digital advancements can simplify our lives. I've seen firsthand the remarkable impact that mobile solutions have on financial management, yet the journey towards striking a perfect balance between user convenience, security, and regulatory compliance remains a challenge for many banks and fintech companies.
What if I told you that there’s a way to make mobile banking authentication as simple as looking at your phone? To explain, I’ll first walk through the different forms of facial authentication technology. Next, we will focus on advanced facial biometrics and its transformative potential for the Nigerian banking landscape.
Understanding the Levels of Facial Authentication Technology
Level 1: Facial Recognition
Facial recognition technology identifies and verifies an individual by comparing their facial features to those stored in a database. While basic facial recognition is convenient, it remains vulnerable to various security threats, including facial spoofing, where an attacker uses a photo or video to trick (and ultimately bypass) facial biometric identification control systems.
Level 2: Liveness Detection
One way to make sure that facial spoofing attacks can’t happen is to use facial liveness detection. This authentication method verifies that the source of biometric data is a live person rather than a picture, a fake video, or a mask. This differentiation is made possible by algorithms that analyze biometric data — this is the component that provides security against facial spoofing attacks. After a user scans their face, liveness detection technology will verify whether or not the source is coming from a fake representation.
Level 3: Genuine Presence Assurance
Genuine presence assurance is a form of advanced facial biometrics. It incorporates a real-time verification system based on a visual challenge-response using display and camera to authenticate transaction attempts and to verify that the biometric authentication is taking place in real time. Genuine presence assurance effectively guards against sophisticated fraud techniques, including deepfake videos as well as pre-recorded or injected videos.
Advanced Facial Biometrics and BVN
In 2014, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in collaboration with Nigerian banks, introduced the Bank Verification Number (BVN) to enhance payment security and protect sensitive information. While the BVN has significantly bolstered financial security, it’s not without its vulnerabilities.
Cybercriminals have found ways to exploit BVNs, using them to gain unauthorized access to financial services while maintaining anonymity. Although biometric data, including fingerprints and facial images, are collected during BVN enrollment, the BVN itself doesn’t leverage the biometric authentication technologies discussed above.
Given these challenges, now is the ideal time for Nigerian banks to bolster the security of BVNs by adopting advanced facial biometrics for customer enrollment and authentication.
Simplifying Mobile Banking Enrollment
Let’s break down what mobile banking enrollment with advanced facial biometrics could look like for Nigerian banks and fintech companies: Imagine a scenario where customers download your mobile banking app from the App Store or Google Play, enter basic identification details, and then simply look into their phone's camera to complete the enrollment process.
This vision can become a reality with Wultra's advanced facial biometrics. Here’s how it works:
1. Bank customers provide basic identification information, such as their email address or phone number.
2. They then look into the camera to proceed with active video verification to analyze their facial features.
3. During the verification process, our technology ensures a match between the customer and their biometric profile stored in the BVN database by utilizing the fingerprints and facial images collected during BVN enrollment.
4. Once the verification process is complete, bank customers set up a local PIN code and enable Face ID.
Importantly, our authentication process includes genuine presence assurance to verify a user’s presence. As mentioned, this feature ensures that the right person is present in real-time to provide a highly secure and user-friendly experience. This fully passwordless activation process not only enhances convenience but also mitigates an array of attacks.
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Users can use their enrolled devices anywhere — they can remotely authenticate themselves in the mobile app, approve payments, and confirm e-commerce purchases securely by leveraging the advanced capabilities of 3D Secure 2.0.
Securing the Future of Banking in Nigeria
At Wultra, we’re committed to revolutionizing and securing the mobile banking experience for Nigerian banks and fintech companies. By securely verifying a user's identity, we establish a robust authentication mechanism for an array of use cases. In addition to customer enrollment, advanced facial biometrics can also help streamline other tedious processes like new app activation, app reactivation, and high-risk transaction approvals.
By supplementing BVNs with advanced facial biometrics, Wultra can help you deliver an unparalleled user experience to your customers while ensuring the highest levels of security. What’s more, our solution is quick and easy to deploy.
Discover how Wultra’s advanced facial biometrics can transform the way your customers engage with mobile banking by watching our recent webinar.
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