KYC for a Small Fintech or App in Africa: A Tier-by-Tier Guide
Start with the minimum your regulator and partners require, then build up in tiers: phone and name, then BVN or NIN, then liveness and face match. A practical plan for a small fintech or app.
If you are building a small fintech or any app that holds money or sensitive data, you will be asked about KYC (know your customer). The mistake many teams make is trying to do everything on day one, which drives users away, or doing nothing, which invites fraud.
The better approach is tiers: ask for a little first, and ask for more as the risk and the limits grow.
Tier 1: phone number and name
Low limits, low friction. Verify the phone number with an OTP so you know it is reachable. This is enough for browsing and very small actions.
Tier 2: BVN or NIN
Before larger amounts, check the person's BVN or NIN against the official record and confirm that name and date of birth match what they entered. On IdentifyOrg this is a single API call: BVN verification or NIN verification.
Tier 3: liveness and face match
For higher limits, add a live selfie. A liveness check proves a real person is present, and a face match ties them to the ID. Add address or document checks where your partners or regulator require them.
Make it part of sign-up
Do the checks inside the sign-up flow, not as a separate manual review that takes days. Two easy ways to do that:
- A hosted KYC verification link that you send by SMS or WhatsApp. The customer finishes it on their phone and you get the result.
- The Verification Suite, which lets you design a flow, track applicants and see results in one dashboard.
- Or embed the flow in your own app.
Launch your KYC flow this week. Create a free account, try everything with free test keys, then go live when you are ready.
Design tips
- Do the cheap checks first. Format check, then the record lookup, then the selfie only if earlier steps pass.
- Compare every field, not just whether the number exists.
- Treat "not found" and "provider unavailable" differently. Not found is an answer. An outage should not fail the customer.
- Make writes idempotent so a retry never charges twice.
- Give your developers test keys so they can build before you spend.
Frequently asked questions
Which tier should I start with?
Start with the minimum your regulator and partner banks require, and add tiers as limits rise.
Do I need a developer?
Not for a hosted verification link. Developers can use the API and our SDKs for deeper integration.
What does KYC cost?
You pay per check from a prepaid wallet, with no contract. Current prices are on the pricing page.
Can I test before going live?
Yes. Test keys return realistic sample data with no real checks and no charge.
Comments
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