Driving Instant Credit Approvals for a Fast-Growing BNPL Platform in the MENA Region

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has revolutionized the way that consumers in the MENA region spend money on products and services. Flexible credit, rapid approvals, and low-interest payment plans have led to rapid growth, but it’s also come with a major issue: verifying that new users are quickly and precisely prior to granting credit.

A rapidly growing BNPL platform in the MENA region partnered with Surepass to power secure and frictionless credit user onboarding. Facing delays, fraud risks, and drop-offs due to slow KYC processes, the platform turned to Surepass for an automated identity stack that could verify users in real time.

With mobile validation, selfie-based face match, and document verification APIs integrated directly into the onboarding flow, the platform now delivers instant credit approvals in under two minutes, without compromising on compliance or fraud prevention.

The Challenge

BNPL platforms work at the crossroads of retail and finance, which is where speed is essential and trust is the most important factor. This platform, currently serving customers in regions like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, as well as various other MENA countries, had been expanding rapidly; however, its onboarding infrastructure was unable to keep up.

The group was confronted with a variety of roadblocks

1. Delay in Credit Approvals due to the manual KYC
   Users who were new to the system were frequently required to upload their documents manually, which required long hours of processing in the back office. This could slow down the user travel time and decrease conversion during peak hours of volume.
2. Mobile number Fraud as well as identity spoofing
   Customers had registered using inactive or disposable mobile numbers. In some instances, fraudsters had fraudulent identities or documents to obtain credit approval. This led to losses and defaults.
3. Unsatisfactory Verification across Markets
   The different countries within the MENA region had different ID formats. This makes it challenging to establish the same verification procedures. The process that worked in the UAE was not as smooth for Egypt and KSA.
4. Rapid Drop-Off Rates during the Sign-Up Process
   Each additional confirmation step or delay in acceptance caused users to stop the onboarding process. This increased cost of acquisition (Customer Acquisition Cost) and a lower lifetime value.

The platform required a reliable verification provider that would allow an onboarding time of less than two minutes and zero tolerance for fraudulent activities.

The Solution

Surepass collaborated closely with BNPL platform’s technology and compliance teams to design a real-time onboarding process for fast, risky credit decisions.

Mobile Number Validation via SIM Status Check
Surepass used their mobile-based verification API to immediately verify the format of the mobile number along with the actual carrier and Status of the SIM. This prevented counterfeit or disposable numbers at the time of registration.

Selfie-Based Face Match
New users were asked to take a selfie as part of onboarding. Surepass’s AI-powered facial recognition matched it against their ID document photo, verifying the applicant’s identity with high precision.

Liveliness Detection for Fraud Prevention
To stop fraud attempts using printed photos or recorded videos, Surepass added liveliness checks to confirm that the person taking the selfie was physically present and live.

National ID and Passport OCR
Surepass’s authentication API for documents supports passports and IDs from the majority of MENA countries. It retrieved user information such as the full name, DOB as well as the number of documents in a matter of seconds, without the need for manual inspection.

Custom Workflow for Each Country
Surepass enabled region-specific onboarding flows. For example, the UAE required Emirates ID checks, while KSA focused more on mobile and document verification. This helped meet local compliance rules.

Real-Time APIs integrated in the App flow
All verification modules were integrated via secure APIs, directly into the app’s sign-up and checkout experience. Users never had to leave the app, ensuring a smooth, and uninterrupted flow.

Impact

The platform has seen transformative changes in key operational and business indicators following the integration.

Credit Approvals that Take Less than 2 Minutes
Once, the process required 10-15 minutes for the upload of documents, and manual reviewing is now done in just two minutes, and that’s even in the peak hours of traffic.

99% Valid Mobile Numbers Onboarded
Surepass’s mobile validation APIs blocked fake or inactive SIM registrations–leading to cleaner user profiles and better contactability.

Removed Fraudulent applications by up to 65%
The liveliness detector, the face match, as well as ID verification, flagged fake users before allowing them to request credit, thus securing the website from charges and debts that could be a problem.

40% boost in Conversion Rate Onboarding
A faster verification resulted in more customers completing the sign-up process, resulting in a higher number of activations and more transactions with credit.

Fully Compliant to MENA Regulations
Surepass’s KYC stack was designed to ensure the platform conformed to the regulations for the authentication of identities and for fraud prevention across a variety of jurisdictions.

Why It Matters

BNPL transforms financial access across the MENA region, but its success is contingent on a single factor: trust. If credit is given to the wrong people. Platforms are subject to large default rates, high losses due to fraud, as well as regulatory examination. If onboarding takes too long, the users will drop out before they have completed the user journey.

Surepass has helped this rapidly growing BNPL company achieve the ideal combination of speed and safety. Incorporating identity verification in the process of onboarding, it enabled immediate credit approval without opening the door for fraudulent activity.