Instant AML and KYC compliance solution for Nigeria
Country Overview
Country Overview
Nigeria has evolved into one of Africa's most robust KYC/AML jurisdictions in recent years. The country is affiliated with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) through its membership of the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
Organisations looking to onboard customers in Nigeria must adhere to both local and international KYC standards.
Regulatory Overview
Regulatory Overview
KYC/AML regulations
AML/KYC regulations in Nigeria are enforced by several regulators, including the following:
- Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
- Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU)
Nigeria's primary legislation governing KYC/AML is the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011.
Choose Smile ID as your compliance partner for AML/KYC regulations in Nigeria!
Data protection regulations
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) enforces Nigeria’s data protection laws via the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
Institutions are required to obtain users’ consent before processing and transferring personal data, and users are entitled to the erasure of their personal data upon request.
Accurately authenticate and onboard users in Nigeria
We empower fast-growing businesses to stay compliant, prevent fraud, and streamline their user verification processes effortlessly. Verify Nigerian users and prevent fraud with confidence:
Access up to 9 ID API Authorities covering over 132M+ ID records in Nigeria.
Verify up to 7 ID documents, including National IDs, Resident IDs, Passports, Driver’s Licenses, and more.
Verify up to 5 ID numbers, including NIN, BVN, Phone number, Voter's ID number and more.
Utilise de-biased models with a 99.8% accuracy rate for all African skin tones.
Our SDKs support low bandwidth and are compatible with software versions as old as Android 5.0. This makes them thoroughly optimised for image capture.
Conduct global AML checks against over 1100 global sanctions, PEPs, and adverse media watchlists.
Benefit from enterprise-level security standards with ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 1 & 2 certifications.
Seamlessly verify up to 7 ID documents in Nigeria
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.
Nigerian National Identity Cards
The Nigerian National ID is a biometric card issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). It contains personal information, and a unique National Identification Number (NIN). The card serves as a proof of identity for citizens. Other examples of national IDs in Nigeria include Consular IDs, which are issued by Nigerian consulates abroad to citizens living outside Nigeria, and Diplomat IDs, which are given to Nigerian diplomats and their families.
Nigerian Passport
The Nigerian Passport is an international travel document issued by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). It contains the holder’s personal information, photograph, and biometric data and enables them to travel internationally. The passport is essential for crossing international borders and proves Nigerian citizenship.
Nigerian Registration Certificate
The Nigerian Registration Certificate, often called the Certificate of Incorporation, is issued to businesses by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). It signifies that a business entity is legally registered under Nigerian law and is authorised to operate.
Nigerian Resident ID
The Nigerian Resident ID is issued to foreign nationals who have been granted the right to reside in Nigeria. Residency permits and cards include personal information, a photograph, and details about the holder’s visa status and duration of stay. Examples include residency permits and residency cards.
Verify up to 5 ID numbers in Nigeria
Our solution empowers businesses to verify Nigerian ID numbers directly from government databases
Verify Nigerian 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.
Transcribes document text with 96% accuracy
Checks for accurate format
Identifies tampered and forged documents
Verifies security features
Scan your document
Our image capture tools guide users to take clear photos even with older devices.
Smile for a selfie
Ensure the real user is behind the camera with a smile to test for liveness.
Get real-time results
In a few seconds, you will confirm the document is authentic and belongs to the user behind the camera.
Comprehensive Identity verification (KYC/AML) solution in one place
Select the ideal option to verify and onboard your customers seamlessly.
Document Verification: Verify over 8500 documents across 220 countries worldwide (including Nigeria) with 96% OCR accuracy using Smile ID.
Government Check: Utilise our Enhanced & Biometric KYC products to verify customer information against 9 Nigerian government ID databases, accessing up to 132M+ ID records.
Enhanced Document Verification: Businesses can combine document verification with government checks for a more enhanced document verification process during customer onboarding.
Improve your security with advanced authentication solutions.
Smartselfie Authentication: Leverage SmartSelfie Authentication, which uses 6 AI-powered anti-spoof models for liveliness checks. This is crucial for detecting fraud during logins and sensitive transactions. With a 99.8% accuracy rate for African faces, it ensures secure access to your system or service.
Integrate SmartSelfie Authentication into your multi-factor authentication system to accurately verify users' identities when they attempt to access your system or service.
Equip your business with everything needed to stop fraud in its tracks
AML Check: Our AML check solution empowers you to instantly screen users against 1100+ global and African sanctions, PEP, and adverse media lists.
Duplicate Account: Eliminate multiple account fraud by scanning previously registered faces in real-time during onboarding with our Smile Secure product.
KYB solution for onboarding businesses in Nigeria
In Nigeria, financial institutions are required to meet KYB (Know Your Business) requirements to adhere to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations.
These requirements mandate the verification of business entities and the identification of key stakeholders and beneficial owners who utilise their services.
Our solution enables businesses to verify over 7 million companies from government databases across Africa, providing vital information such as:
Company registration status
General company information and address
Beneficial owners and other stakeholders
Integration options
Seamlessly integrate our solutions via API or no-code option, with your existing infrastructure and automate your compliance. Available integration options include:
Smile Links: A flexible, no-code option for creating customised user verification flows
SDKs: Available for iOS, Android, Hosted Web, Flutter, and REACT Native
Server-to-server libraries: Compatible with Ruby, Java, PHP, Python, and node.js.
REST API: For comprehensive and flexible integration
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.