Mastercard has extended its partnership with Smile ID, an African identity verification provider, to speed up the rollout of secure digital identity solutions across the continent.
The collaboration will help banks, fintechs, mobile money operators, and enterprises onboard customers faster, reduce identity fraud, and expand access to financial services. It combines Mastercard’s identity technology with Smile ID’s local data verification and fraud detection tools.
Tackling Fraud and Inclusion
Africa’s digital economy is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030. As smartphone adoption rises, the need for trusted identity systems becomes more urgent. Reliable digital ID services can help close financial inclusion gaps, strengthen fraud prevention, and support cross-border commerce.
Through this agreement, Mastercard has also made a minority investment in Smile ID. Together, the companies will offer:
- Instant, secure onboarding across African markets.
- Stronger fraud detection, including synthetic identity fraud.
- Compliance with KYC and AML regulations.
- Scalable identity solutions to support digital growth.
Smile ID’s links with governments and local data sources give the partnership a broad reach. They will enable near real-time identity verification across multiple countries.
“The rise of synthetic identity fraud costs banks and lenders in Africa hundreds of millions each year. By working with Mastercard, we can give financial institutions the confidence to securely onboard the next 300 million African users in seconds,” said Mark Straub, CEO of Smile ID.
