Facial recognition firm banks 7-digit amount from VinaCapital, InterVest

Vietnam-based fintech startup Wee Digital said it has raised a seven-digit funding round from InterVest and existing backer VinaCapital Ventures.

Wee Digital CEO Christian Nguyen / Photo credit: Wee Digital

The company said it looks to use the fresh capital to expand in the market and to further develop products and services across the financial services sector in Vietnam.

What problem is it solving? According to a Biometrics Research Group report, the financial services sector has become one of the primary end-user markets for biometrics technology globally.

Applications of the technology vary from using fingerprint scanning technology to identify and authenticate customers to voice recognition for customer service calls.

Based out of Ho Chi Minh City, Wee Digital provides financial institutions with biometric security technology and deep data analytics based on AI. The company focuses on facial recognition, using the technology to help banking clients access financial services without the use of passwords.

The startup’s CEO, Christian Nguyen, told Tech in Asia that implementing their solution can help lower the unbanked population by making financial services more approachable.

“Wee Digital’s ambition is to change Vietnam’s micro-transaction behavior, moving Vietnam toward a cashless society where digital identity can verify and authenticate transactions,” the company said in a statement.

What are the opportunities and the challenges? The Biometrics Research Group report estimated that the revenues for biometrics technology supplied to the global banking sector in 2016 totaled US$2.2 billion. It expects the market to log a compound annual growth rate of over 50% from 2016 to 2020.

The research firm also projected that by this year, the financial biometrics market will account for almost a third of total biometrics market revenues globally.

According to Nguyen, digital banking has become vital for almost all major bankers, presenting a higher demand for Wee Digital’s technology. This has also become more apparent amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“During all social distancing, banks realize more how important it is to digitalize all banking services, especially e-KYC,” he added.

The exec, however, said that applying Wee Digital’s tech into core banking infrastructures takes time and a lot of effort from both the service provider and the bank.

What are its future plans? During the coming months, Wee Digital said it aims to focus on partnering with banking clients, helping them integrate biometrics solutions to their wide range of banking services.