Mastercard and Smile ID, a leading African digital identity verification company, have joined forces to simplify and speed up the process for businesses to sign up for merchant accounts.
This collaboration will leverage Mastercard’s Merchant Digital Onboarding Program (MDOP), which provides a secure and automated system for banks, mobile network operators, and payment facilitators to verify businesses during onboarding. Smile ID’s technology will be integrated into MDOP, allowing acquiring partners to digitally onboard merchants across over 50 African countries in just three minutes.
“The old way of signing up merchants was slow, expensive, and vulnerable to fraud,” said Sekai Ndemanga, Senior Vice President at Mastercard. “This partnership with Smile ID is a game-changer. It will make onboarding faster, more secure, and easier for everyone involved.”
Traditionally, onboarding merchants has been a slow and tedious process, often taking days due to manual data entry and verification. This collaboration aims to address this by offering:
- Faster onboarding: Smile ID’s technology automates checks, including ID verification, facial recognition, and business verification, significantly reducing processing time.
- Improved security: The combined solution helps prevent fraud by utilizing advanced verification methods.
- Better user experience: Businesses can sign up for merchant accounts quickly and easily, with minimal disruption.
“We are excited to partner with Mastercard to bring our digital KYC solutions to even more businesses across Africa,” said Mark Straub, CEO of Smile ID. “This will allow financial institutions to serve their customers better and fintech companies to expand their offerings.”
The benefits of this partnership extend beyond just speed and security. By simplifying the onboarding process, Mastercard and Smile ID are making it easier for African businesses to participate in the digital economy. This can lead to increased financial inclusion and economic growth across the continent.
This initiative aligns with Mastercard’s global mission of bringing one billion people and 50 million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025.
