Franc's 96% Pass Rate using Smile ID
The numbers that matter
Smile ID's dataset and models transformed Absa's fraud detection and customer experience. These are the results that moved the needle.
Verification accuracy achieved
Reduction in false rejections
Months to full deployment
How Franc enables wealth management with Smile ID
Absa operates across 12 African countries, serving over 25 million customers. They move money, open accounts, and issue credit at scale. Every transaction starts with identity verification. Every verification is a fraud risk.
How Absa serves Africa at scale
Franc's mission is to empower South Africans to build wealth. It stands out from other investment platforms by offering a low minimum investment amount and providing access to unique investment products that are usually inaccessible to the average South African.
Franc offers three options: a low-risk money market fund, a local equity fund for South African companies, and an offshore equity fund for international diversification. It simplifies investing, enabling users to start small and grow their portfolios over time.
The user-friendly interface and low minimum investment requirements make it ideal for newcomers, while the variety of funds, including the Signa S&P 500 ETF for international exposure, appeals to seasoned investors.
The launch of the offshore fund demonstrates Franc's commitment to continuous improvement and providing South Africans with the tools to achieve their financial goals. It showcases their dedication to empowering users and breaking down barriers to wealth creation.
Challenges with Verification
Franc is tackling the challenge of building trust in a volatile equity market by prioritising transparency and ensuring users receive all their earned interest and returns. To overcome scepticism, the company emphasises educating users about market fluctuations and the benefits of long-term investment strategies.
However, a slow manual verification process initially hampered user onboarding, leading to frustration, high abandonment rates, and reduced employee productivity, all of which impeded Franc's ability to scale effectively.
To address these issues, Franc sought a partner to streamline the onboarding process, allowing them to focus on customer education and other business objectives. Additionally, Franc aimed to enhance its compliance with South Africa's strict KYC and AML regulations by implementing a more efficient verification system. This system would accelerate onboarding and ensure full regulatory compliance, supporting Franc’s commitment to providing a trustworthy and user-friendly investment platform. To tackle these challenges, they decided to partner with Smile ID.
Partnering with Smile ID
Franc is tackling the challenge of building trust in a volatile equity market by prioritising transparency and ensuring users receive all their earned interest and returns. To overcome scepticism, the company emphasises educating users about market fluctuations and the benefits of long-term investment strategies.
However, a slow manual verification process initially hampered user onboarding, leading to frustration, high abandonment rates, and reduced employee productivity, all of which impeded Franc's ability to scale effectively.
To address these issues, Franc sought a partner to streamline the onboarding process, allowing them to focus on customer education and other business objectives. Additionally, Franc aimed to enhance its compliance with South Africa's strict KYC and AML regulations by implementing a more efficient verification system. This system would accelerate onboarding and ensure full regulatory compliance, supporting Franc’s commitment to providing a trustworthy and user-friendly investment platform. To tackle these challenges, they decided to partner with Smile ID.
“Smile ID has been an amazing product for us. It ensures proper KYC, collects legitimate information, and significantly reduces the time for verification. With Smile ID, we can onboard users quickly and accurately. This partnership has been crucial for us, particularly because Smile ID understands the African market well and can handle our documents correctly.”
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