Thailand’s cabinet has reportedly drafted a bill proposing an e-KYC digital ID system based on facial recognition.
It is aimed at facilitating online financial transactions and cybersecurity according to the Bangkok Post. The digital ID bill, which is likely to come into force next year, enables people to open accounts and seek lending via the internet or a smartphone. Facial recognition will set used to verify the identity of users opening new deposit accounts.
Several large banks, such as Bangkok Bank (BBL), have participated in e-KYC trials conducted in the Bank of Thailand’s regulatory sandbox.
The draft bill would require the establishment of a 12-person committee to oversee the digital ID platform, with the Office of the Electronic Transactions Commission acting as its secretariat office, and stipulate criteria, means, and conditions for use of the platform by businesses and data protection for consumers, according to the government.
It will also impose fees and handling charges, while companies will be required to draft confidentiality standards and safety information before being issued an operating license.
In an interview with Bangkok post, government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said:
“Currently, several transactions or contracts require personal identification or authentication, and the identification process needs the users to show their identity to the service providers and submit many documents. The new law, once enacted, will facilitate and expedite the processes of such identification, and if digital ID can be authenticated it will benefit both service users and service providers.”
Earlier this year, Chinese facial recognition technology developer SenseTime Group raised $620m in a second round of funding. The Series C+ funding round was led by Fidelity International, Hopu Capital, Silver Lake and Tiger Global. Qualcomm Ventures and other investment firms and strategic investors participated.
D-ID, a Tel Aviv-based startup looking to protect identities from face recognition technologies, also recently landed $4m in seed financing. The round was led by Pitango Venture Capital with participation from Y Combinator, Foundation Capital, Fenox Venture Capital, Maverick Ventures, and two angel investors. Rami Kalish, managing general partner and co-founder at Pitango Venture Capital, will join D-ID’s Board of Directors as part of the deal.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
