Meet the builders: Rethinking payments in the DRC with biometrics.

Author: Payton Stenglein

Date: 2024-10-17

In this series, we aim to go beyond the technology and shine a spotlight on the people making biometrics happen. Each article will feature an industry leader leveraging Keyo’s palm-based biometrics to solve real-world problems. From healthcare to hospitality, from travel to payments, let’s explore how these experts are applying these solutions in innovative ways that are both fascinating and impactful.

Meet Sylvain Mubenga, CEO and Founder of AL-Tech

We’re excited to introduce you to Sylvain Mubenga, the visionary CEO and founder of AL-Tech. One of Sylvain’s core values is empowering individuals through technology. With biometric payments, he is building a way for people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to access financial services that were previously not available. This inclusion allows individuals to participate in the economy and have greater control over their finances.

About Sylvain Mubenga

Sylvain Mubenga is a forward-thinking entrepreneur with a background in engineering, telecommunications, and banking. He boasts an impressive resume, having worked for leading telecommunications giants like Vodafone, Orange, and T-Mobile. He later joined Cisco Systems as a Senior Network Consultant for the EMEA region, providing strategic guidance to improve clients’ network infrastructures. His career then shifted to the banking sector with roles as a Senior Network and Security Architect at Barclays Bank and Nationwide. He holds Cisco CCIE certifications in Enterprise and Security.

Most recently, Sylvain served as Lead Architect at Mastercard, contributing to advanced payment solutions. He is now the CEO of MainMoney, pioneering an innovative payment system using palm vein authentication powered by Keyo, aimed at combining convenience with enhanced security.

Beyond his professional achievements, Sylvain Mubenga supports humanitarian initiatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), aiding programs to combat child poverty and assisting women affected by war. His efforts reflect a mix of technical expertise and social commitment, making him an inspiring figure in his field.

About the project

The DRC is a country that has been plagued by corruption and identity theft, making financial transactions difficult, expensive, and risky. Under Sylvain’s leadership, AL-Tech has partnered with Keyo to provide a straightforward method for residents to deposit checks and use their mobile wallets at local stores. With the convenience of mobile wallets and biometric payments, residents no longer have to carry large amounts of cash or risk losing checks.

Building the solution

The Altech team collaborated with Keyo to develop two applications: an enrollment app and a payments app. They also utilized the Keyo member dashboard as part of their solution. Together, the teams worked closely to craft custom elements that customized the apps for AL-Tech’s users. This collaboration resulted in a robust system that is secure, user-friendly, and scalable.

The enrollment app: By leveraging Keyo’s predesigned enrollment flows and incorporating Altech’s unique customizations, the teams collaborated to develop a bespoke enrollment app. The goal of the enrollment app was to enable users to quickly create accounts and securely register their palms within minutes. The process was intuitively designed to be user-friendly, ensuring anyone can easily get started with minimal effort.

The payments app: Through PawaPay, a leading payment aggregator in Africa, Keyo and Altech successfully developed a custom mobile money payment experience. Members can effortlessly access their mobile wallets with a simple wave, ensuring secure and private identity verification. This innovative approach delivers a seamless payment experience that enables members to access their digital wallets in just a few seconds.

Member dashboard: At Keyo, privacy is a fundamental principle. Providing members with a central hub to manage their accounts and data is a vital aspect of the palm payment experience. Altech introduced user account creation and mobile money wallet features by integrating the Keyo user dashboard into its product suite, without the need for complex engineering. As a web application, the dashboard offers scalability and bypasses the need to be downloaded, enabling swift user onboarding via any smart device. Sylvain’s key requirement was for the solution to be flexible enough to launch a new digital product.

Key features of the solution:

• Biometric authentication: ensures that the person making the transaction is who they claim to be, improving security and reducing fraud significantly.
• Customizable interface: the Keyo Wave+ V2 screen allowed Altech to customize the user experience according to their use case and preferences.
• Scalability: the system is designed to grow with the community, adding more users and features over time.
• Compliance: Leveraging Keyo’s products offers built-in compliance features, including automated notifications, integrated consent management, and account deletion. Keyo simplifies adherence to compliance standards such as GDPR, CCPA, and BIPA, making it easy for companies to stay compliant.

The impact

Sylvain Mubenga’s passion for bringing this solution to life is evident and contagious! With more than 700 users enrolled at a recent conference, we anticipate remarkable growth in the coming months. Residents are growing comfortable with mobile wallets and have quickly adopted a more convenient and secure way to make payments. This will lead to increased consumer spending and stimulate economic growth.

If you’re interested in learning more about how biometrics are shaping the future, be sure to follow this series. Stay tuned for our next feature, where we’ll introduce you to another industry leader making waves with palm biometric solutions.