How iris biometrics enhance eKYC for the unbanked

In the race to expand access to digital services, governments, mobile network operators and financial service providers are under pressure to deliver seamless, secure, and inclusive onboarding. Yet, millions of people across developing countries and regions affected by crisis remain excluded from financial services, social protection programs, and telecom access. Not because the technology isn’t available, but because traditional eKYC models rely heavily on self-verification, documentation and connectivity.

Identity should be universal, dignified, and fraud-proof regardless of geography, status or infrastructure. Our EyePay® iris recognition platform is built for exactly that - enabling instant and 100% accurate identity authentication without the need to own a mobile phone or physical ID documents.

Here are four ways iris biometrics are transforming eKYC, and one crucial reason why iris-based systems are leading the fight against deepfakes and identity fraud, as we are already seeing in some AI driven scenarios.

eKYC Without Devices or Documentation

Whether you're onboarding a refugee without a passport, verifying the identity of an elderly beneficiary who doesn’t have or doesn’t quite know how to use a smartphone, or reaching a remote village where digital literacy is low, relying on traditional digital channels will exclude the very populations who are most in need.

Our EyePay® platform uses one thing unique to each one of us – our eyes.

With a single glance, one iris can be securely verified in under three seconds. As an example, this approach has transformed humanitarian operations in the Middle East:

Over 13 million beneficiaries have been registered in this region since 2012 using our iris technology
The system consists of 4000+ active iris cameras, API’s and back-end software, processing over US $1.3 billion worth of financial and in-kind aid assistance per year in real-time.
Giving over 10m citizens verified access to a large range of government services and enabling private companies to securely utilise rapid and government endorsed identity management.

This system eliminates the need to own a smart phone or to present a paper ID, whilst eliminating duplication and double-dipping, preserving dignity and ensuring that financial assistance reaches those entitled to it, protecting their entitlements.

Secure, Rapid Onboarding Even Without Connectivity

Connectivity remains a barrier in many remote or underserved areas. Traditional onboarding solutions often fail in regions with limited or unreliable internet coverage.

This offline capability can:

Enable MNOs to comply with country legal SIM registration mandates in rural markets
Allow Fintech’s to offer mobile money services outside of cities with less stable infrastructure
Enable large migrant worker employers to provide salary assurance cash payment to those who do not possess a bank account
Support national ID systems to enrol beneficiaries anywhere without them needing their own devices or apps

Importantly, our QR code authentication feature allows identity-linked transactions and services to be completed even without a connection.

Individuals can be issued a printed or digital secure QR code, which can only be unlocked by their eyes - to instantly authenticate identity, verify entitlements, or trigger payments. This makes service delivery even faster and more flexible in the field.

Built for Compliance and Designed to Scale

In a landscape of evolving Anti Money Laundering (AML) & eKYC mandates, our EyeCloud® system delivers precision, auditability, and easy integration with existing databases and payment systems.

Some highlights & achievements so far:

MODEE Jordan enable 10m citizens to securely access multiple e-government services via Sanad, powered by our iris recognition technology
Mobile wallet transfers are activated in real time at Jordan Post enabling transfers of humanitarian cash assistance
650,000+ individuals prevented from entering Abu Dhabi International Airport in the UAE using our technology, the first iris-based system to be deployed for border control
Winning the 2021 GSMA GLOMO Award for Best Mobile Innovation in humanitarian tech. Watch it here
Real-time verification with <3 second response times
Full compliance to Level 1 of ISO 30107-3 Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) for mobile devices, application and system. First in the world to achieve this

This gives decision makers the confidence to scale secure, and crucially, compliant programs.

Beating Deepfakes With Iris Liveness Detection

The rise of AI deepfake and spoofing technologies threatens traditional identity systems, making in-person liveness detection essential.

Our range of iris cameras automatically detect the live iris and take a focused, pristine black and white Near Infrared image (NIR)
The mathematical algorithms convert the iris image into a unique digital code, which is enrolled into the iris database for storage and subsequent template rapid matching in real-time at the point of required service.
Our images utilise patented techniques in both our hardware and software, which detect and stop high resolution images or video streams of a person's iris being used by an imposter

We have multiple patents, including pupil-dilation detection, off-axis gaze, glasses / contact lens detection and presentation attack detection (PAD) certification.

Tapping Into a Rapidly Growing Market

Iris biometrics are taking off globally:

Market value expected to grow from US $4.41 billion in 2023 to US $19.13 billion by 2032 (Source: S & S Insider)
Governments and law enforcement agencies are now the largest adopters for national ID systems, citizen services, border control and law enforcement identification systems

The vast and timely expansion reflects a clear industry shift toward the uniqueness of iris recognition for extreme accuracy, security, ease of scalability, contactless operation and enrolment for life. This allows cost-efficient, real-time identity systems able to authorise one person from millions to be a ubiquitous reality.

Connect with Mustafa Jaber, our Business Development Manager to explore how we can help you implement a secure and inclusive onboarding & authentication process.

Follow IrisGuard on LinkedIn to stay updated on the exciting growth of iris biometric services, digital identity in the wild and social inclusion for real world payments.