FirstBank Launches Facial Biometric Onboarding on FirstMobile—but Insider Threats Still Cast Shadow on Nigeria’s Banking Security

Firstbank of Nigeria has deployed a facial biometric verification function on its flagship mobile application, Firstmobile, allowing customers to board and activate their mobile banking services without the need for a debit card, which the bank boasts as a major step to make financial services more accessible and secure.

The update deletes recording based on cards as a prerequisite for activation of accounts, allowing users – including Nigerians in the diaspora, those who have lost or lost their cards and new customers – to register using facial recognition technology.

It also incorporates anti-users to block attempts at identity, an increasing concern in the landscape of the evolutionary fraud of Nigeria.

“With these new live services on Firstmobile, we are convinced that we will undoubtedly improve the digital experience of our customers,” said Chukwuma Ezirim, group executive, electronic and detail product division at Firstbank.

The FIRSTMobile update is also delivered with other additions of functionalities: virtual cards for secure electronic commerce, instant activation of credit cards, flexible wage advances with a reimbursement of up to three months and general improvements of applications. Users can access it by downloading or updating the application via the Play Store or Apple Store.

This marks a strategic change from Firstbank to allow the digital bank without a card, by removing what had been an important obstacle for many customers.

Until now, Firstmobile required a debit card to finish activation – making a population band that does not have a card or had expired or compromised. This group includes technology informed users who are not intentionally without card for security reasons, as well as rural and diaspora users, often unable to recover cards physically.

“We understand the importance of following the evolving digital landscape, and we are committed to providing our customers with cutting -edge solutions that make the bank simpler, faster and more accessible. Our goal is to ensure that each interaction with FirstBank improves customer satisfaction and establishes lasting relationships, ”added Ezirim.

However, financial security experts warn that the biggest threat to the digital bank is not the lack of customer verification – this is the compromised integrity of those who oversee internal systems.

“The real danger is inside”

This decision is aligned with a broader thrust in the Nigeria banking sector to deepen digital inclusion by simplifying integration processes. Although the banks have made different efforts to contain fraud, cybersecurity experts and financial analysts have warned that the real threat to customer funds could be out of reach of facial biometrics.

Biometric innovation has been applauded to improve safety on the side of users, but did not do much to approach what becomes the most persistent – and least spoken – Nigeria banking form: internal collusion.

The data compiled by SBM Intelligence, a geopolitical research firm based in Lagos, show that Nigerian banks have lost more than 14.7 billion nairas because of fraud between 2019 and 2023. In this amount, the collusion of initiates alone represented at least 1.5 billion Nairas in 2022 and 1.04 billion Backend systems or selling confidential.

The Nigerian Inter-Balance System of Inter-Ball (NIBSS) has repeatedly reported internal violations as the most damaging vector for fraud, in particular in high-level cases involving significant withdrawal of dormant or inactive accounts. In many of them, the information access information has been traced to service staff or externalized IT support teams.

Despite regulatory efforts to strengthen substantive policies and implement biometric verification through the banking system, application and internal surveillance remain low.

With data showing that nearly four in four financial fraud involves internal players, experts call banks – and the Nigeria central bank – to invest as strongly in institutional integrity, employee verification, internal surveillance and protection of denunciators as in digital donations.