NEC XON partners with Azimut to digitalise smart self-service

Johannesburg, 03 Feb 2022

NEC XON has partnered with Azimut, a Wavetec company, to provide know your customer (KYC) turnkey self-service solutions throughout Africa that help telecoms and mobile operators identify and verify customer identities, without branch overheads, as they connect the next billion.

The fully integrated solution, which uses the world’s most advanced multi-modal biometric identification system for touchless data acquisition and verification, integrates with existing infrastructure and adapts to country-specific regulatory requirements.

Advanced, touchless self-service KYC kiosk.

“There are expected to be 600 million unique mobile internet subscribers in Africa within the next two years. They will have 360 million smartphones, and internet-based revenues will climb from $18 billion to more than $300 billion in GDP contributions, according to GMSA. Those are customers who the African telecoms and mobile operators must serve. KYC and identity solutions for enrolment, sales and after-sales service, seamless digital self-service onboarding, SIM dispensing, card issuing and automating cash-in, cash-out (CICO) transactions is the fastest, most cost-effective method to provide unprecedented customer experiences,” says Grahame Saunders, Head of Identity Management at NEC XON.

“Africa has the largest telecoms and mobile money agent network in the world,” says Zia Siddiqui, Director of Wavetec Africa, “and the next stage of digitalisation is self-service SIM dispensing and mobile banking services. We are working with NEC XON to provide a seamless digital onboarding process with advanced KYC protocols. Our kiosks offer a consistent experience with 24-7 access to services.

“NEC XON has developed an impressive digital KYC solution, with infrastructure and active deployments in the region, which makes them the ideal choice for this partnership,” he adds. “This KYC solution helps telecoms and mobile money banking operators comply with legislation and cut costs, operational complexities, maximise time and resources usually assigned to issue SIM cards, other GSM and mobile money-related services.”

NEC XON’s solution, built on Azimut, Wavetec’s technology, guides customers through the regulated personal data collection process, which includes biometric data. The solution validates customer identities to meet RICA requirements in South Africa. This same process also updates customer data to a central repository.

Flexibility is a key benefit

“We can accommodate all relevant legislation throughout Africa through standard customisations that enable rapid deployment,” says Saunders. “The same system ensures rapid updates, ease of maintenance and seamless integration with other systems such as national identification, immigration, social services and others.”

NEC XON

NEC XON is the combination of XON, a Systems Integrator providing custom ICT and security services and solutions in Southern Africa since 1996, and NEC Africa, the African business of the global technology giant NEC Corporation. NEC Corporation implemented its first communication solution in Africa in 1963 and established NEC Africa in 2011 to grow its business ICT and public safety.

Kapela Capital (Pty) Ltd, XON’s B-BBEE partner since 2010, continues as NEC XON’s B-BBEE partner in South Africa and is is a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor.

NEC generates global revenues in excess of $30 billion by orchestrating a brighter world for public entities, enterprises, telecoms carriers, and providing system platforms for businesses.

The combined NEC Africa and XON (NEC XON) operations seek to more fully explore the opportunities for safe city, energy, cyber security, telecommunication solutions, retail, managed services, cyber defence services and cloud (both public and private), among others in sub-Sahara Africa.

NEC XON maintains its head offices in Gauteng, South Africa with a footprint that covers all nine provinces in South Africa and 16 countries in sub-Sahara Africa.

Azimut

Azimut is the global leader in providing telcos and mobile banking self-service kiosk solutions with deployments in North America, the Middle East, Africa and South East & Central Asia. It has vast experience working with some of the largest enterprises all over the world. Azimut is a full-service hardware and software provider, with capabilities to design and manufacture all their products in-house.

SIMVEND is Azimut’s SIM dispensing kiosk that automates telecom and mobile banking services like the onboarding and registration of new customers as well as issuing replacement SIMs, performing top-ups, money transfer and availing other value-added services.

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