Instant AML and KYC compliance solution for Rwanda

Smile ID empowers businesses to achieve seamless AML and KYC compliance with its identity verification solution in Rwanda. Instantly verify customer identities and onboard users to comply with KYC, AML, and data protection regulations in Rwanda.

Country Overview

Rwanda's affiliation with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) through its membership of the FATF-Style Regional body and Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), signifies its commitment to implementing KYC/AML regulations aligned with international standards.

Regulatory Overview

KYC/AML regulations

AML/KYC regulations in Rwanda are enforced by a number of regulators including the:

National Bank of Rwanda (BNR),
Capital Market Authority (CMA),
Financial Intelligence Commission (FIC)
Financial Services Rwanda Development Board

The primary legislation governing KYC/AML in Rwanda is Law No. 54/2018 of 13/08/2018 relating to the prevention and punishment of money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Choose Smile ID as your comprehensive compliance partner for AML/KYC regulations in Rwanda!

Data protection regulations

The National Commission for the Protection of Personal Data (CNPD) is the agency responsible for the enforcement of data protection laws in Rwanda.

Under Rwandan data protection laws, the processing of personal data requires explicit consent from customers. Companies are also expected to keep customers' information confidential and secure.

Financial institutions are also required to retain customer data for up to 10 years as part of KYC/AML regulations.

Accurately authenticate and onboard users in Rwanda

Scale your business in Rwanda with Smile ID. We empower fast-growing businesses to stay compliant, prevent fraud, and streamline their user verification process effortlessly. Verify Rwandan users and prevent fraud with confidence:

Verify up to 5 Rwandan ID types, including National IDs, Resident IDs, Passports, Driver’s Licenses, and more.

Our de-biased models ensure a 99.8% accuracy rate for all African skin tones.

Utilise our image capture SDKs optimised for low bandwidth and compatible with all software versions from Android 5.0 upwards.

Conduct a global AML check against over 1100 global sanctions, PEPs, and adverse media watchlists.

Our enterprise-level security standard with ISO 27001, and SOC 2 Type 1 & 2 certifications ensures the highest level of data protection and compliance.

Instantly verify up to 5 ID types in Rwanda

We empower businesses with the flexibility to verify their user identity using any of the following ID documents. All we need is a document photo and a selfie.

Rwandan Identity Card

The Rwandan National Identity Card, issued by the National Identification Agency (NIDA), serves as the primary identification document for Rwandan citizens. Examples include the National ID card and Diplomatic ID cards issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation for diplomats.

Rwandan Drivers License

Issued by the Rwanda National Police's Department of Traffic and Road Safety, the Rwandan Drivers License authorises individuals to operate motor vehicles. This license includes personal details, a photograph, and the classification of vehicle types the holder is authorised to drive, making it essential for both personal and professional mobility within the country.

Rwandan Passport

The Rwandan Passport, issued by the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration, allows citizens to travel internationally. It contains personal information, a photograph, and biometric data, serving as a crucial document for international travel, business, and personal activities.

Rwandan Resident ID

Examples of Rwandan Resident IDs include Residency Permits and Residency Cards for foreign nationals living in Rwanda. These documents are issued by the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration and are necessary for legal residency, work, and access to services.

Accurately verify users in Rwanda

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

Choose the right option to verify and onboard your customers.

Document Verification: With Smile ID, you can verify over 8500 documents across 220 countries globally (including Rwanda) with 96% OCR accuracy.

Smile Links: Flexible, no-code option for creating customised user verification flows.

SDKs: iOs, Android, Hosted Web, Flutter, REACT Native

Server-to-server libraries: Ruby, Java, PHP, Python, node.js

REST API: