FacePhi Branches Into Retail Via Cencosud Scotiabank Partnership

“It is an enormous satisfaction to have entered Chile with a company as emblematic as Cencosud Scotiabank, whose initiative in the digitisation process will blaze a trail in the sector for the next few years.” – Jorge Sanz, CRO, FacePhi

FacePhi is branching into the retail sector in Chile, thanks to a partnership with Cencosud Scotiabank.

Cencosud is the country’s biggest retailer, and it’s one of the biggest in the broader Latin American market. Through an alliance with Banco Scotiabank, the retail company also has a financial services arm.

FacePhi entered the picture in July, when it signed a strategic agreement with Cencosud Scotiabank. Since then, the companies have been working on a biometric identity verification solution that will allow Cencosud Scotiabank to offer its customers a credit card entirely through digital channels.

The solution is based on the selfie biometrics approach to onboarding that FacePhi has helped to pioneer over the years. An end user is asked to submit a selfie photo as well as images of their official identity documents, and facial recognition technology is used to match them together, thereby verifying the end user’s identity without any need for the user to visit a physical branch or store.

The companies have not yet announced a launch date for the credit card application system, but are evidently pleased with the progress they’ve been making through their collaborative efforts.

“It has been a very exciting and high-tech project so far, in which we have never lost focus on continually improving our customers’ experience, as well as keeping all their information secure and private,” said Ariel Espinoza, the manager of Cencosud Scotiabank’s Digital Factory. “FacePhi has become a strategic ally for us, both for its advanced technology and for its team, with a high level of commitment and responsibility.”

In addition to ushering FacePhi into a section of the retail sector, the CencoSud Scotiabank project will further solidify the company’s presence in the Latin American market, where the Spain-based biometrics specialist is already well established.

Beyond financial services, FacePhi has also been active in areas including access control, pension distribution, and even decentralized ID.

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December 9, 2021 – by Alex Perala