Face facts: Bitay’s seamless KYC process using NFC technology
As digital assets go mainstream and face increasing regulation, crypto exchanges are taking a second glance at KYC. More specifically, how to implement scalable, automated KYC services.
At Bitay, we met this challenge head-on when initially launching in Turkey: we were the first digital asset exchange in the country to create a GDPR-compliant modular ID verification system using local government API services. Now, as Bitay expands globally, we are reinventing the KYC process using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
Our aim is to revolutionize KYC, minimizing the hassle experienced by users at signup while still maintaining strict security protocols. To that end, we recently deployed our Machine Learning-supported biometrics toolkit, which massively improves the digital onboarding experience for users regardless of their country of origin.
This cutting edge biometric ID verification process relies on NFC technology. Many modern passports and national IDs contain a chip that carries digitally signed and encrypted biographic information. Perhaps most importantly, this information cannot be manipulated. Included in such a chip is a high-resolution facial image without any additional watermarks, making it useful for face matching. Smartphones equipped with NFC (as all modern smartphones are nowadays) can read and verify the chips in identity documents, allowing users to authenticate their identity with nothing more than an ID and a selfie taken with their phone. The process is quick, practical, and secure, and all user data is protected using the same sophisticated technology employed by the world’s leading banks.
Recognizing the need for a secure, easy-to-use KYC process within the Turkish crypto landscape, we worked with the resources at hand to create an innovative system that has alleviated onboarding issues for the exchange’s users, which now number over half a million. Now, as we set our sights set on growth and scaling in India, CIS (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Georgia), Central Europe (Ukraine, Russia, Poland), Southeast Europe (Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria), the U.S., and MENA (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine), we have developed an even more practical and seamless KYC solution while still prioritizing data privacy and convenience.
