Friday, March 29, 2024

NADRA Introduces Contactless Biometric Verification for Payments

Contactless biometric verification services have been established by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), according to a press release. These services will be used in banking and the payment industry.

Banks will be able to gather and verify the biometrics of potential account holders through the use of a digital smartphone application developed by the company.

As a result of this development, Pakistan has become one of the first countries in the world to implement the technology on a national scale.

As reported by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), a pilot project has been established, with the service being made available to five banks that were nominated by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Other banks and fully SBP-licensed Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) will be invited to participate in the trial run after they have completed the appropriate paperwork.

The service was introduced during a visit to the NADRA Headquarters by the Governor of the SBP, Dr. Reza Baqir, and will be expanded to include all banks and EMIs after the pilot project concludes.

In his remarks, Dr. Baqir stated that the “early adoption of this new technology has endless potential to reach towards underserved populations, while it extends a great benefit to the financial sector as it will reduce the operational costs, assisting in relieving pressure on banks that have been negatively impacted during this pandemic.”

In a statement, Tariq Malik, Chairman of the NADRA, said, “We are responding to a pressing need during this ongoing pandemic.” He went on to say that “this new technology makes contactless fingerprint acquisition and matching possible using a smart mobile phone, providing an alternative to conventional methods of conducting digital financial transactions that may require specialized equipment or visits to bank branches.”

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