MTN SA introduces biometric customer onboarding in all stores

The mobile network operator is rolling out fingerprint and facial recognition across all retail outlets to strengthen identity checks and accelerate customer onboarding.

Cornelia van Heerden, executive of customer operations at MTN South Africa.

MTN South Africa, a leading telecommunications provider serving millions of mobile customers, has expanded its biometric identity verification system to all retail locations in the country. The move is aimed at reducing SIM-swap fraud and improving the speed of new customer registrations.

The system, developed in partnership with technology firm Vigilate AI, uses fingerprint and facial recognition to verify identities in real time. This replaces traditional paper-based checks, which the company says have been more vulnerable to fraudulent activity.

According to MTN, the six-month pilot, covering about one-fifth of its retail footprint, resulted in faster onboarding and fewer cases of identity fraud. “This technology streamlines the process for customers while strengthening fraud prevention,” said Cornelia van Heerden, executive for customer operations at MTN South Africa.

The company stated that the platform incorporates security and privacy controls to safeguard personal data, although details on data storage and retention policies have not been disclosed. The rollout comes amid growing regulatory attention to biometric technologies, especially in industries managing sensitive information.

MTN positions the initiative as part of its broader digital transformation efforts and as a measure to counter rising threats in the telecom sector. Industry observers say the move could influence other operators in South Africa and shape biometric adoption in sectors requiring secure digital identity verification.