[CAVIE-ACCI] The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) is considering implementing biometrics for mobile payment account holders, in partnership with local telecom operators, according to Africa Intelligence.

A tender has not been issued, but the report indicates that partners MobiWare and ProgressSoft are positioning themselves to bid on the project to provide fingerprint biometrics and facial recognition, as are Dermalog, Idemia, Veridium and Thales.

Meanwhile in Nigeria, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has rolled out paperless transactions at over 200 branches with 575 biometric ATMs, along with point-of-sales (PoS) terminals for fingerprint biometric authentication within branches.

The ATMs, also equipped with fingerprint scanners, can be used for bank transfers between FCMB accounts, interbank transfers, PIN changes and data updates.

“The FCMB cardless biometric transaction on ATM is a pioneering innovation in digital banking in Nigeria that provides wider access to ATM usage for many more people who may not have debit cards,” states FCMB Executive Director of Retail Banking Olu Akanmu. “It delivers greater financial inclusion. Its biometric identity factor also delivers enhanced security and convenience for customers, taking their digital experience to the next level.”

FCMB has a customer base of more than 6 million people, according to the announcement.

By Chris Burt