Customer Identity Verification
A mandatory compliance step on certain Ozow payment methods, which require a customer's identity to be verified before they can complete a payment.
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Customer Identity VerificationCustomer Identity Verification Checking that the payment instrument belongs to the natural person making the payment. Ozow requires it for merchants it has classified as high-risk, on Pay by Bank, Absa Pay, Capitec Pay, Nedbank Direct EFT, FNB Payment Requests and PayShap Request, and can disable those methods where it is not implemented correctly. is a mandatory compliance requirement for merchants using specific Ozow payment methods. It requires that a customer's identity is verified before they can complete a payment.
Which payment methods require it?
Customer Identity Verification is mandatory for the following payment methods:
- Pay by BankPay by Bank The payer authorises the payment inside their own banking app or online banking, and the funds move from their bank account. No card is involved and no card details are entered. (all banks)
- Absa PayAbsa Pay Absa's own payment method, which the customer authorises in their Absa banking app. It gets its own button at checkout rather than sitting inside the bank list, and it requires Customer Identity Verification.Absa
- Capitec PayCapitec Pay Capitec's own payment method. The payer gives a cellphone, account or ID number rather than card details, and approves the payment in the Capitec app, so no card number and no banking login is ever entered at checkout. It gets its own button rather than sitting inside the bank list, and it requires Customer Identity Verification.Capitec
- Nedbank Direct EFTNedbank Direct EFT Nedbank's own payment method. Like the other bank APIs it gets its own button at checkout rather than sitting inside the bank list, and it requires Customer Identity Verification.Nedbank
- FNB Payment Requests
- PayShap RequestPayShap Request The request side of PayShap. Rather than the payer pushing money, the payee asks for it: the payer receives a request and approves it in their own banking app, and the funds move once they do. Enabled by Ozow on request rather than by default.payshap.co.za
Ozow reserves the right to disable these payment methods if Customer Identity Verification is not correctly implemented.
Does this apply to me?
Customer Identity Verification applies to merchants whose business Ozow has classified as operating in a high-risk industry. Bank API onboarding and compliance lists those industries and the documents each one needs.
Ozow will notify you of your risk classification during onboarding. If you are unsure whether this applies to you, contact support@ozow.com or your account manager.
When must verification happen?
The standard requirement is that a customer's identity is verified at the point of signup or account creation on the merchant's platform, before any payment is made. Any deviation from this standard must be discussed with and approved by Ozow before implementation. Contact support@ozow.com or your account manager to discuss your specific requirements.
How verification works
Your platform is responsible for verifying the customer's identity. You may use a third-party KYC provider of your choice to complete the verification. Once verified, the customer's South African ID number or foreign passport number must be:
- Saved securely on your platform
- Passed to Ozow as part of every payment request
- Treated as non-editable, the customer must not be able to change their verified ID number on your platform. Any change to the ID number must trigger a full re-KYC process before payments can resume.
South African ID numbers
A South African National ID number is a 13-digit code assigned to every citizen and permanent resident. It appears on the front of a South African Smart ID card or at the top of the first page of a South African ID Book above the barcode.
Foreign passport numbers
A foreign passport number is the unique identifier printed on the data page of a passport issued by a country other than South Africa. It is required for customers who are not South African citizens or permanent residents and do not hold a South African ID number.
How Ozow enforces this automatically
When a verified ID number is passed in the payment request, Ozow uses it to determine which payment methods and bank accounts are available to that customer. Payment methods are shown or hidden automatically based on whether the customer's ID is linked to an account at the relevant bank.
If the ID number is not passed correctly, any payment method where Customer Identity Verification is mandatory will be hidden from the customer automatically; they will not be able to select it at checkout.
Example
A customer signs up on your platform and you verify their South African ID number with your KYC provider. From then on you pass that verified ID to Ozow with every payment request.
At the Ozow payment page, Ozow checks which bank accounts are linked to the ID and shows the payment methods accordingly.
| Payment method | Linked to the verified ID? | Shown at checkout? |
|---|---|---|
| Pay by Bank, FNB | Yes | Shown |
| Pay by Bank, Standard Bank | Yes | Shown |
| Capitec Pay | No | Hidden |
| Absa Pay | No | Hidden |
What the check does not cover
The check decides which methods a customer is offered. It does not decide which account they pay from.
FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank and Bidvest are reached by the customer signing in to their own internet banking, and the account a payment leaves is chosen there rather than at Ozow. On those four a customer can still pay from an account that is not theirs, and third-party blocking closes that. It is off unless you ask for it and can be enabled per payment method, so contact support@ozow.com or your account manager for the methods you need it on.
When is it mandatory for go live?
Customer Identity Verification must be in place and correctly implemented before you can go live with any of the payment methods listed above. Ozow will verify that your implementation is correct as part of the go-live process.
How to implement it
Customer Identity Verification is implemented differently depending on which API you are using. Follow the implementation guide for your chosen API:
- Payments API: see Redirect to Ozow
- One API: see Redirect: One API
Ongoing obligations
Once Customer Identity Verification is in place, it must remain active for the duration of your use of these payment methods. If your business activities change and you move into a high-risk category, you must notify Ozow immediately and implement Customer Identity Verification before continuing to use the affected payment methods.
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