SA’s app developers rank among world’s best, says MTN Business

The downside of the digital age is that passwords are needed for everything. It has reached the point where any one person could need up to 100 passwords for various online accounts. So, when a South African company developed a biometric identity solution and entered it into the MTN Business App of the Year Awards, everyone from banks to international software giants took notice.

The idea may have been to end the era of passwords, but for iiDENTIFii, the idea led to being named the Best Enterprise Solution in the 2021 MTN Business App of the Year Awards and then scaling the heights of the IT world.

The company now partners with one of South Africa’s leading banks, helping customers replace passwords with fingerprints and facial recognition programmes. The result is that it takes less than 30 seconds for the bank’s customers to digitally identify themselves as account holders.

On a global scale, the company is now a certified Microsoft co-sell partner – a coveted position within the world of software and applications. With its digital biometric authentication and automated onboarding solution hosted in Microsoft Azure, iiDENTIFii is part of the Microsoft Global Partner Network. In 2021, iiDENTIFii was also recognised as the New or Emerging Independent Software Vendor Partner of the Year in the Microsoft South Africa Partner of the Year Awards.

For Lance Fanaroff and Marco Wagenar of iiDENTIFii, the association with Microsoft is the highlight of an exciting journey that began when they started working on payment solutions in 2017. It has opened the way for iiDENTIFii to deliver customer identification needs in the financial services, telcos, healthcare, government, transport, retail and insurance industries worldwide. Significantly, Microsoft and its partners are also incentivised to sell and promote the solution to customers.

For the average consumer, this massive digital step means that banking is more efficient as they can undertake transactions quickly, without too much thought, knowing that a secure online authentication solution is keeping them and their accounts safe – with their faces and eyes having become their passwords.

“Liveness is the guarantee that a person attempting authentication is a real person, not a mask or a bot. Even if someone else has your card, the account cannot be accessed as they don’t have your eyes or your face. This is critical, especially for financial institutions where security and compliance are vital,” says Fanaroff.

“It helps service suppliers confirm that the person undertaking the transaction is real. While the authentication process is taking place, a ‘selfie’ of the user is taken automatically. The user then uploads an identity document. The information from the card, book or passport, including the facial image, the selfie and document pictures, are then triangulated with the Department of Home Affairs data to authenticate the user’s identity,” says Fanaroff.

“iiDENTIFii has also made going into a bank branch to open a new account a thing of the past. What was once a time-consuming process can now be completed from home in under 60 seconds,” he adds.

“The app is also proving itself in Africa, where mobile devices are used to overcome the limitations of distance and lack of infrastructure,” says Kholofelo Magagane, Head of Marketing at MTN Business. “Major South African banking groups are introducing iiDENTIFii in the countries in which they operate, helping with the penetration of the app and quickly making iiDENTIFii a market leader in SA and across the continent.”

“There is no doubt that South Africa is home to enormously talented technical people who can compete on equal terms with anybody in the competitive IT industry across the world. Seeing the success of a company like iiDENTIFii, which came up through our App of the Year, affirms the role that MTN is playing in creating an event where South African developers can showcase their talents.

“As we move into the 2022 MTN Business App of the Year Awards, the 11th year of the event, we can look back proudly at the role that we have played in helping our local IT talent. The result has been apps like the Zulzi app that contribute to the quality of life for thousands of people and serve as inspiration for other developers to turn their ideas into a reality. You never know, perhaps another trail-blazing developer is waiting in the wings ready to be recognised by global business after they’re discovered at our App of the Year.”

Entries for the 2022 event close on 5 September. Entrepreneurs and start-ups of app-based products and services from SA and across the continent are encouraged to participate in what has become a leading digital event, offering prizes totalling R1 million.

For full details on the MTN Business App of the Year Awards, or to register for entry, visit www.appoftheyear.co.za.