Stay compliant and onboard customers faster in Malawi
Country overview
Country overview
Malawi is a member of both the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) AND East and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) and has made strides towards bringing its KYC/AML regulations to a global standard.
Regulatory overview
Regulatory overview
KYC/AML regulations
AML/KYC regulations in Malawi are enforced by a number of regulators including the:
- Reserve Bank of Malawi, and
- Malawian Financial Intelligence Authority
The primary KYC/AML regulation in Malawi is the Financial Crimes Act of 2017.
Data protection regulations
While Malawi does not have active data protection laws or a regulatory agency, there are personal data provisions under the Electronic Transactions and Cybersecurity Act No. 33 of 2016
The act mandates the obtaining of consent before the processing or transfer of customer data. In addition, users retain the right to request the deletion of their data.
Accurately verify users in Malawi
Stay compliant, prevent fraud and streamline your user verification process for your customers in Malawi and across other African countries with Smile ID. Verify users with confidence with:
The most extensive ID coverage on the continent
99.8% recognition accuracy for faces of all skin tones
A solution that is compatible with any device
Documents we verify in Malawi
Give users the flexibility to verify their identity using any of the following ID documents. All we need is a document photo and a selfie.
Malawian National ID
The National Registration Bureau issues national ID cards that double as the primary form of identification for KYC
Malawian Passport
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services issues passports that can be used as a KYC document
Malawian Driver’s License
Driver’s licenses issued by the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services can be used to verify the identity of holders.
Malawian Resident Card
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services issues resident cards to foreigners living in the country. This document can be used to verify their identity.
Verify Malawians using ID documents
Verifying users with ID documents and biometric face matching is one of the most reliable ways to determine a user's true identity. Our ID document verification solution checks that an ID document is authentic, accurately transcribes the text on the document and compares a user-submitted selfie to the document image. Onboard users anywhere in seconds with only a document image and a selfie.
Transcribes document text with 96% accuracy
Checks for accurate format
Identifies tampered and forged documents
Verifies security features
Scan your document
Our image capture tool guides users to take clear photos even with older devices.
Smile for a selfie
We ensure a real user is behind the camera by asking them to smile to test for liveness.
Get real-time results
In a few seconds, we will confirm the document is authentic and belongs to the user.
Ready to get started?
We are equipped to help you level up your KYC/AML compliance stack. Our team is ready to understand your needs, answer questions, and set up your account.