MTN South Africa Tackles SIM, ID Fraud Using Biometrics

Published Date : 8/7/2025 

MTN, South Africa's leading telecom provider, is rolling out a biometric system in partnership with Vigilate AI to combat SIM swap and identity fraud, enhancing security and customer convenience. 

There’s a growing wave of identity theft and SIM swap fraud incidents in South Africa, and the country’s major telco, MTN, is taking significant steps to counter these issues. The company recently announced the introduction of a new biometric system to identify SIM card users, which is now being implemented in all of its stores across the country.

With the new system, all individuals seeking to register a SIM card or re-identify themselves will undergo real-time fingerprint and face biometric verification. This advanced technology is designed to ensure that only legitimate users can access and use SIM cards, thereby reducing the risk of fraud and identity theft.

MTN is partnering with UK-based biometric solutions provider Vigilate AI on this project. Vigilate AI uses biometric algorithms for fingerprints and facial recognition, provided by U.S.-based ROC, which has consistently scored among the accuracy leaders in independent testing. This partnership underscores MTN's commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance security and customer service.

The rollout of the new biometric system follows a highly successful six-month pilot program that was conducted in about 20 percent of MTN’s stores nationwide. The pilot facilitated customer onboarding for new subscription contracts and drastically reduced instances of identity theft. According to MTN South Africa’s Customer Operations Executive, Cornelia van Heerden, the feedback from the pilot stores was overwhelmingly positive. Customers praised the dramatically faster sign-up process, error-free verification, and the overall convenience of the new system. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the main issue MTN is addressing with the new biometric system?

A: MTN is addressing the growing issues of identity theft and SIM swap fraud in South Africa, which have been causing significant financial losses and security concerns.

Q: How does the new biometric system work?

A: The system uses real-time fingerprint and face biometric verification to ensure that only legitimate users can register or re-identify themselves for SIM cards.

Q: What was the outcome of the pilot program for the biometric system?

A: The pilot program was highly successful, facilitating customer onboarding and drastically reducing instances of identity theft, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers.

Q: How much does SIM-swap fraud cost South Africa annually?

A: SIM-swap fraud is estimated to cost South Africa around 5.3 billion rand annually, which is approximately US$298 million.

Q: What other markets has MTN deployed biometric SIM registration in?

A: MTN has also deployed biometric SIM registration in some of its markets outside South Africa through platforms like the Seamfix Enrollment Suite, which includes liveness detection capabilities. 

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