Within the next six months, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will allow banks in SA real-time access to the Home Affairs National Identification System (Hanis), enabling them to verify the identity of prospective and current clients.
According to Kalyani Pillay, CEO of the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric), it signed an agreement with the DHA, forming a strategic partnership to allow banks to conduct online fingerprint verification of bank clients.
Hanis holds South African citizens' ID numbers, fingerprints and photos. Accessing Hanis will equip banks with the ability to conduct on-the-spot verification of the fingerprints of a client against the information held in Hanis, says the organisation.
According to a Sabric statement, the first phase of the pilot project was completed last year, which successfully proved the feasibility of online fingerprint verification of banking clients. “The current phase of the project is looking at the pre-requisites for formally implementing and rolling out access by banks. The second phase of the project will be implemented in the next three to six months,” it states.
Pillay says banks face a challenge regarding the authentication of the identity of clients, given the scale of fraudulent documents in the country, and are excited about the prospects of this project.
“We anticipate the project will help with the prevention of crimes, such as falsified facility applications, identity theft and account takeover fraud. The banking industry is grateful to the department for this opportunity,” she adds.
Department of Home Affairs director-general Mavuso Msimang says: “The project symbolises the public and private sector collaboration in combating potential identity crime.”
He assures the public their private information will not be compromised because banks only have controlled access to the Home Affairs database.
Last year, the DHA welcomed the possibility of providing the police access to its Hanis database. However, it cautions the move would introduce even more challenges for its national information system.
Sabric, which was established in 2002 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Banking Association, promises to continue with its provision of adequate bank crime prevention initiatives.
Share