“Trust Would be Vital for Business Recovery”

Ugo Aliogo

Business leaders have been urged to build trust-based processes across their systems in order to thrive in the post-COVID-19 economy.

The advice was given yesterday in a statement by the Chief Executive Officer, VerifyMe Nigeria, Esigie Aguele, against the background of instability and risks confronting businesses as they adapt to the realities of a pandemic driven environment.

According to Aguele: “Trust is the new currency of business in the post-COVID-19 era and it has become increasingly clear that it is a major economic driver that enables faster and more cost-effective transactions. This makes it imperative for businesses to consciously invest in processes and systems that establish trust in every action, relationship and transaction.”

He also stated that trust would enable businesses attract the right kind of partners in order to achieve their goals.

He noted that it would be a grave mistake for organisations to continue to view trust from the lens of a token social virtue.

According to him, “In the past few weeks, Nigeria has seen most businesses adapt their processes to work remotely in response to the repeated lockdowns. As this becomes the new normal, identity authentication and fraud solutions must become the competitive differentiator for organisations if users are to put their faith and money in them.

“In financial service industries such as banking, insurance and credit-lending institutions, businesses have statutory and reputational-risk mandates to ensure that new customers are adequately vetted during onboarding. They need to verify that customer’s match who they claim to be even without physical interaction.”

Aguele further remarked that establishing a digital identity and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) infrastructure would help organisations within the sector protect their ecosystems as they grapple with the expected increase in demand for their services, especially with approving customers for loans and other forms of credit.

He maintained that organisations can balance customer needs while reducing risks and maintaining regulatory standards.

Aguele said: “Most customers are frustrated by lengthy and cumbersome onboarding processes which affect their trust in a company even before the relationship has started. However, businesses are also concerned about fraud prevention and regulatory compliance. For most organisations, digital identity verification offers a solution to this problem.

The statement affirmed that digital ID solutions offered by the group allow businesses to create simple and streamlined onboarding experiences for trusted KYC data through API for corporates and an online portal for individuals.

Continuing, Aguele added: “With Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Tier III compliance, VerifyMe’s products give decision-makers the tools to assess customer suitability for financial and other services.

“With over 1,000 corporate organisations, including banks and government agencies, currently using VerifyMe products, the company has emerged as a leading technology company pioneering innovative and secure ID solutions in the African market. VerifyMe’s ID verification capabilities leverage the most trusted databases such as the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Bank Verification Number (BVN) and Drivers’ License verification.”