Bank improves access through digitised IDs

THE Women’s Micro Bank (Mama Bank) will use a biometric system and digital identification card (smart cards) to enable its customers to open accounts and access financial services.
The bank signed an agreement with Digizen PNG Ltd last week.
Mama Bank chief executive officer Gunanidhi Das said the partnership was to address challenges faced by customers, especially women, in rural areas to obtain formal identification documents for financial institutions.
“Many times they pay high fees to obtain identification documents,” he said.
“With this new initiative, we will work with Digizen to ease the challenges faced by customers.”
Mama Bank tested the digital identification tool through a pilot project in East Sepik last year with Digizen and the Asian Development Bank.
“The project was supported by the Bank of PNG, the first project facilitated via the regulatory sandbox hosted by BPNG,” he said.
“The customer’s personal information is captured using the digital identification card which will enable them to meet the know-your-customer (KYC) identification as required by the Central bank.”
Digizen chief executive officer Frank van der Poll said the digital identification card could store and secure customer information via the cloud system through computers and mobile phones.
“This can be done without the use of internet connection, especially when in rural areas and it gives a good advantage for customer living in rural areas to access,” he said.
“The customers will have their personal information in the card where they can also be access with transactions.”