Mashreq introduces ‘Electronic Facial Recognition’ to secure onboarding for corporate clients

By Delisha Fernandes

Mashreq, a financial institution in MENA, has introduced Electronic Facial Recognition (EFR) for wholesale banking clients, allowing large corporate clients to open bank accounts without wet signatures.

The account opening process for UAE-based wholesale clients is now fully digital & 100% paperless. The client can input information and upload mandatory documentation, which the system automatically scans & read, minimising data entry.

Rania Nerhal, Chief Client Experience & Conduct Officer at Mashreq, said: “While many retail banks offer digital technology & solutions to retail banking customers, the same is often missing for wholesale banking clients. Mashreq is amongst the first banks to solve this and offer such a customer-friendly solution to signatories of wholesale clients.  In such large corporations, signatories are high-profile individuals who travel frequently, leading to delays in account opening because signatories would be out of the country.”

Once the bank reviews the application and it is complete as per the bank’s policies, the account opening form is ready to sign; any signatories with valid Emirates IDs can use their cell phones to upload their specimen signature & provide consent using Electronic Facial Recognition.

Joel Van Dusen, Group Head of Corporate & Investment Banking at Mashreq, said, “Mashreq’s vision is to enable innovative possibilities with a seamless experience for our clients, which is exactly what this solution offers.  Even in 2023, some banks continue to ask for over 50 signatures on hundreds of pages to open a corporate account.”