Facephi collaborates with Qashio to enter the Middle East market
Dubai UAE, 05 June 2023: Spend management fintech Qashio has partnered with a global leader in digital identity verification, Facephi to further secure their digital identification processes. Qashio’s customers will now be able to use biometric technology by Facephi, marking the publicly traded company’s first contract and entrance into the Middle East. UAE and KSA-based users can now perform digital onboarding and identity verification without the risk of identity theft.
Facephi’s technology will provide Qashio’s corporate customers with an improved user experience and security when registering their employees to issue corporate credit and debit cards and authorising them to use the cards. The process will be secure, stable and easy for end users. Qashio users will need to take a photo of their ID card on both sides using their mobile device so that Facephi’s technology can read and capture their data using both Latin and Arabic alphabet characters. Users will then take a selfie from which Facephi will extract a biometric pattern of their face to compare it with the photograph on their official document, thus verifying their identity.
A survey’s results showed that a significant majority, 94%, of consumers in the UAE worry about the risk of banking or credit fraud as the banking industry is digitized. According to Deloitte’s latest Middle East Fraud Survey, almost half (48%) of the organizations reported a higher number of fraudulent incidents in 2021 than in previous years. Additionally, more than one-third of customers (48%) believe that the issue of fraud stems from insufficient identification measures and that individuals should confirm their identity when utilizing services. By applying biometric technology, Qashio reinforces its customers’ security during the onboarding process. Simultaneously, the user gains a more secure experience, which means they can verify their identity with total security in just a few seconds.
Jonathan Lau, CPO & Co-Founder of Qashio, commented: “Partnering with an established provider like Facephi, which already provides its services to global banking giants such as Santander & HSBC, allows us to provide services in both English & Arabic across multiple countries, and elevates our offerings by bringing global security and KYC standards to clients in the region. Facephi’s biometric technology will help us develop our processes in a more agile, quicker and easier way, with the peace of mind that we will avoid digital identity theft attacks.”
Enrico Montagnino, General Manager of Facephi EMEA, values this contract signing as “an important milestone in the company’s expansion strategy. One year ago, we made a commitment to commercialise our solutions in EMEA and this first contract signing with a fintech company in the region shows that we are on the right track.”
Corporate card spending in the UAE is estimated to be north of $100bn with KSA estimates indicating close to double this by 2025 most of which is currently on personal cards, petty cash and checks. This showcases a need to digitize and modernize corporate spend management, which is reported to save time by over 50% on reconciliation and manual work by accountants.
Qashio’s virtual and physical cards and software allow businesses to manage their spending more automated and transparently, saving hundreds of man-hours and reducing petty cash leakage in the process. Finance and HR departments benefit from better expense reporting, better visibility, control of cash flows and an empowered workforce.
Last Updated on 2 years by News Desk 2
