Addis Ababa( Ethiopia Today) June 20, 2023: IrisGuard announces a strategic collaboration for the provision of the EyePay® Network in Ethiopia with Arifpay.
The implementation of IrisGuard’s robust and reliable digital payment infrastructure, which exclusively uses the human iris for authenticating and processing payment transactions, ensures complete transparency and ensures that social support reaches the intended recipients.
Being powered by IrisGuard’s cutting-edge iris recognition software and hardware makes the EyePay® Network one of the most secure and accountable payment platforms available, providing irrefutable proof-of-life for compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) regulations. This real-time tracking tool monitors funds at every stage of the process, eliminating the risk of fraud, duplicate payments, and double-dipping.
With only 25% of adults in Ethiopia owning a bank account, this strategic partnership marks a milestone in the fintech industry and reinforces Ethiopia’s reputation as a hub for innovative and transformative steps towards financial inclusion.
IrisGuard and Arifpay are paving the way for a future where digital payments empower beneficiaries to navigate the digital financial landscape confidently using the iris, overcoming connectivity, location, or literacy hurdles.
Combining IrisGuard’s world-leading iris recognition technologies with a bespoke design to support UN agencies, NGOs, governments, banks, post offices, money exchangers, and mobile wallet agents, the EyePay® Network provides users with one uniform web portal interface connecting multiple payers to a network of payment service providers. It removes lengthy set-up processes and features variable exchange rates, post-disbursement payment, and instant settlement of funds upon disbursement, thus providing stronger financial resilience and larger coverage.
Imad Malhas, Founder and Managing Director of IrisGuard, commented, “We are proud to be part of such a remarkable milestone in Ethiopia with our partners at Arifpay. Ethiopia’s innovative landscape is the perfect stage for our EyePay® Network services and the kind of transparency and accountability levels it brings to the international humanitarian assistance arena. As part of our global expansion plans, we look forward to working with local partners who share our passion for innovation and for expanding financial inclusion in new regions across the world.”
Arifpay is one of the pioneers in the Ethiopian FinTech ecosystem, licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia to operate as a payment system operator in point of sale (POS) and payment gateway. Arifpay has been working to revolutionize Ethiopia’s digital payment ecosystem with full-fledged innovative solutions to support MSMEs in Ethiopia. With a commitment to supporting Ethiopia’s National Digital Payments Strategy and Digital Ethiopia 2025, Arifpay is thriving to create a digitally enabled business ecosystem by providing state-of-the art POS and payment gateway solutions.
The impact of Arifpay on ecosystem building has been growing by creating a platform on which all stakeholders can join forces and enhance the nation’s financial ecosystem through advocacy and policy recommendations.
Arifpay’s CEO, Bernard Laurendeau, adds: “We are excited to work with IrisGuard in Ethiopia and about the potential the EyePay® Network platform brings to Ethiopia and the African continent. This solution will enable us to serve millions of unbanked people and support the government’s ongoing efforts to digitize the economy at the highest level of accountability and transparency.”
