The Bankers Association of Botswana has launched a P1.5-million (approximately R2-million) electronic Know-Your-Customer (eKYC) solution to empower commercial banks with online instant verification of ID documents against the national citizen database.

Keabetswe Pheko-Moshagane, the chairperson of Association, said, “Customers would no longer need to present certified copies of their Identity documents when they visit banks and this will be a time saver for both customers and the various certifying agencies in government and the private sector.”

Despite the impact of COVID-19, banks have readily invested in eKYC to ensure that they are effectively positioned to compete, post-pandemic, Pheko-Moshagane added.

Botswana’s Minister of Finance Dr Thapelo Matsheke said eKYC is the culmination of collaborative efforts between the Bankers Association of Botswana, Bank of Botswana and the Financial Intelligence Agency in their roles as the industry regulators and the Ministry of Immigration, Nationality and Gender Affairs, the custodian of the national repository for citizen identification data.

The Minister said from a systemic and regulatory perspective, the eKYC interface stands out as a vital pillar in ensuring that banks comply with KYC, a critical component of national Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regime.

“It will in future be made available to other financial institutions as a way of strengthening the national AML/KYC regime across the financial sector,” said Dr Matsheka.

The government believes eKYC will move Botswana closer to achieving full international AML/KYC compliance, as prescribed by the Financial Action Task Force and its affiliated Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style Regional Body, the Eastern & Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).