Sylvia Duruson
Smile Identity, the African ID verification and KYC startup has rebranded as Smile ID alongside major product upgrades and a refreshed brand image. The rebranding aims to match Smile ID’s expanding vision for multifaceted KYC services in Africa.
Since 2017, Smile ID has completed over 75 million ID checks across Africa, leveraging facial recognition and data integration to help companies easily verify customers. This has enabled Smile ID to build the continent’s most robust KYC/AML solutions.
The company unveiled a new logo and colour palette to symbolise its mission of providing reliable verification tools to onboard Africans to multinational businesses. Smile ID also rolled out a redesigned website improving user experience and offering expanded compliance resources.
Smile ID introduced three key product updates: enhanced software development kits, fraud detection alerts when previous users re-register, and web links for streamlined identity verification flows.
CEO Mark Straub explained that as African KYC matures, businesses require more than basic identity checks. They need worldwide capabilities like a verified ID for foreign travel and access to global watchlists. Smile ID’s rebrand and product expansion aim to meet these elevated needs.
Embracing “Smile ID” reflects the name’s common usage by customers. For Straub, it signals a new era of consolidated KYC accomplished through a single provider. “For all things ID, we Unlock Digital Africa,” he stated.
Recent funding, an acquisition, and its rebrand position Smile ID to continue growing its verification solutions across Africa. The company aims to enable digital access for individuals and businesses as a reinvented one-stop KYC provider
