In my last post, I asked why KYC (Know Your
Customer) is so hard. In many cases, it’s not because the regulators require
it, but because the mobile money has not taken a risk-based approach to
designing their KYC processes. If you examine your KYC processes carefully, you
will probably find many opportunities for improvement. Here are some
suggestions:
- Too restrictive: Is your list of allowable documents too tight? If you only allow a few ID types, you may be excluding many potential customers. I have found that even in countries with a National ID scheme, huge numbers of people do not have an ID because the cost to obtain or replace one is prohibitive. Some operators get around this need by allowing a more informal ID, such as a letter from a local official certifying the person’s ID.