VerifyNowFICA-aligned verification for banks, neobanks & fintechs.
Use VerifyNow to verify identity, face match, company details, directors, bank accounts and AML/PEP risk before activation, payout or credit workflows proceed. Run the checks through one dashboard or API and keep the report trail.
In short: what VerifyNow does for banks, neobanks and fintechs
A bank-grade KYC and KYB programme in South Africa combines Home Affairs SA ID verification, bank account verification (AVS), AML/PEP/sanctions screening, CIPC company and director checks, face match, and — where the product justifies it — document authentication and consumer trace. The bank or fintech remains the FICA accountable institution and owns its Risk Management & Compliance Programme.
VerifyNow’s scope: Home Affairs SA ID verification, bank account verification (AVS), AML/PEP/sanctions screening, CIPC company & director verification, face match / liveness, document authentication, driver’s licence decode, vehicle / VIN lookup and consumer trace — all under POPIA-compliant consent with a full audit trail. VerifyNow does not issue credit bureau reports or SAPS criminal record clearances; those are sourced from a registered credit bureau and SAPS (or an authorised provider) respectively, and sit alongside VerifyNow’s checks where the product requires them.
The verification primitives behind every account
The six services most commonly combined into a South African bank, neobank or fintech onboarding and risk stack.
SA ID Verification
Home Affairs–sourced identity checks for retail customer onboarding, card issuance and lending. Returns name, date of birth, ID status and the official photograph for downstream matching.
Bank Account Verification (AVS)
Confirm that an account number, branch and account holder details actually belong to the named customer before you push payouts, take a debit-order mandate or settle a chargeback.
AML / PEP / Sanctions Screening
Screen customers and directors against PEP and international sanctions lists at onboarding and on an ongoing basis — the backbone of your Section 21 and 21A obligations.
Face Match
Match a live selfie against the Home Affairs photograph for remote retail onboarding, step-up on high-risk transactions and account-recovery flows.
CIPC Company Match
Verify business customers for KYB: registered company name, status, registration number and directors — the starting point for beneficial-owner and director AML screening.
Consumer Trace
ID-led trace of recorded contact details and addresses for dispute resolution, chargeback investigation and fraud enquiries — authorised under NCA Regulation 18(4)(b).
Workflows your risk team actually runs
Four end-to-end scenarios that chain the services above into a single CDD or risk decision.
- 01
Retail customer KYC onboarding
Collect an ID number at sign-up, run SA ID Verification against Home Affairs, capture a selfie and match it with Face Match, then screen the subject via AML/PEP before the account is activated for transacting.
SA ID VerificationFace MatchAML/PEP Screening - 02
Business customer KYB
Resolve the company with CIPC Company Match, verify the settlement account with Bank AVS, and run AML/PEP on each director and beneficial owner before the business relationship is established.
CIPC Company MatchBank AVSAML/PEP Screening - 03
Debit-order mandate setup
Before a debit-order instruction is lodged, call Bank AVS to confirm the account holder name, identity number and account status match the customer the mandate is being taken from.
Bank AVSSA ID Verification - 04
Chargeback & dispute investigation
When a dispute is raised, confirm the underlying beneficiary account with Bank AVS and, where identity is contested, run Consumer Trace to reconcile the recorded contact details on file.
Bank AVSConsumer Trace
FICA, SARB, NCR and POPIA
Banks are accountable institutions under FICA Schedule 1, and are bound by the Banks Act and the Mutual Banks Act. Their customer due diligence (Section 21), enhanced due diligence (Section 21A), record keeping (Sections 22–23) and reporting obligations (Sections 28 and 29) all sit inside a board-approved Risk Management & Compliance Programme (Section 42). VerifyNow supplies the verification primitives — Home Affairs ID checks, AVS, AML/PEP, CIPC and face match — that a bank plugs into its own CDD, RMCP and reporting pipeline.
For the rest of the sector, credit providers must be registered with the National Credit Regulator (NCR), payment service providers operate under PASA and SARB rules (including the National Payment System), and e-money issuers are supervised by the South African Reserve Bank. Each of these regimes assumes a documented customer identification process backed by evidence — which is exactly the evidence VerifyNow produces per verification.
All customer data flowing through VerifyNow is handled in line with POPIA, which governs lawful processing, purpose specification and data-subject rights for any personal information processed during verification.
FICA workflow checklist for Banking & Fintech
Use this path for retail onboarding, business KYB, payouts, debit-order mandates and fraud operations.
Financial services workflows usually need formal CDD, EDD, record keeping, monitoring and RMCP controls.
Practical onboarding sequence
- 1Confirm whether your business is a FICA accountable institution for this workflow.
- 2Identify the customer, counterparty or responsible person before the relationship starts.
- 3Verify identity using the right report and save the verification receipt.
- 4Risk-rate the person or entity and decide whether AML/PEP or enhanced due diligence is needed.
- 5Verify bank account ownership before deposits, payouts, refunds or settlements move.
- 6Keep a CDD record, consent/lawful-basis evidence, timestamp and transaction reference.
- 7Use the FICA Toolkit and RMCP generator where your business needs documented procedures.
Toolkit links
KYC Bundle
Combines Home Affairs ID + Photo with supporting trace context where available, giving one stronger onboarding report instead of separate checks.
Run checkFace Match
Compares a selfie or face photo with an ID/reference photo, then returns a match result and confidence score to reduce impersonation risk.
Run checkBank Account Verification
Checks the bank account details against bank-held data to confirm whether the account is open, valid and linked to the person or company provided.
Run checkAML/PEP/Sanctions
Searches sanctions, PEP, watchlist and adverse-risk sources so your team can review higher-risk people, directors and counterparties.
Run checkCIPC Company Match
Looks up the company against CIPC records so you can confirm registration details before dealing with a business counterparty.
Run checkCIPC Director Search
Returns director and linked company context from CIPC records, helping you verify who is behind a company party or mandate.
Run checkEducational guidance only. Your accountable-institution status, RMCP, customer risk rating and lawful basis determine the final checks and records you must keep.
Banking & fintech questions
Does VerifyNow meet bank-grade KYC obligations under FICA?
Banks are FICA accountable institutions under Schedule 1 and are responsible for their own customer due diligence (CDD) programme under Section 21 and their Risk Management & Compliance Programme (RMCP) under Section 42. VerifyNow supplies the verification primitives that a bank-grade CDD process relies on — Home Affairs ID verification, bank account verification (AVS), AML/PEP and sanctions screening, CIPC company and director checks, and face match — but the bank remains the accountable institution and retains ownership of its risk-based approach, thresholds, RMCP and reporting obligations to the FIC.
Is Home Affairs ID verification real-time?
Yes. South African ID verifications against the Home Affairs source typically return in under 10 seconds end-to-end, including name, date of birth, ID status and the Home Affairs photograph where available. This makes real-time onboarding flows and risk-decision gates practical for retail banking, card issuance and lending products.
Can I screen customers against PEP and sanctions lists?
Yes. The AML/PEP Screening service checks a subject against domestic and foreign politically exposed persons lists and international sanctions lists (UN, OFAC, EU, UK and SA). It is suitable both for onboarding screening and for ongoing monitoring against refreshed list versions, which supports Section 21 and Section 21A enhanced due diligence requirements.
Do you integrate with our core banking or payment system?
Every verification service is available over a REST API in addition to the VerifyNow dashboard. Teams typically call the API from their onboarding service, payments service or fraud engine. See the API reference at /api-docs for endpoint definitions, authentication and example payloads.
Are fintechs and payment providers also FICA accountable institutions?
Yes. Under FICA Schedule 1 many fintech business models — payment service providers, money remitters, e-money issuers and crypto asset service providers — are accountable institutions with the same core CDD, RMCP, record-keeping and STR/CTR reporting obligations as banks. Payment providers must also observe PASA and SARB rules, and NCR registration applies to credit providers.
Build a bank-grade onboarding stack
Create a free VerifyNow account and start wiring Home Affairs ID, AVS, AML/PEP, CIPC and face match into your KYC and KYB flow.