Mastering Sri Lanka’s Identity Verification: A Merchant's Guide with Shufti
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Got it Resend EmailUnderstanding the Challenges of Sri Lanka Identity Documents
This guide helps Sri Lankan merchants, institutions, and service providers understand identity verification challenges, emphasizing the importance of accurate verification in finance, telecommunications, and e-commerce. It stresses compliance with KYC and AML regulations to avoid penalties and loss of trust. Shufti’s advanced technology offers a solution with OCR, biometric verification, and document validation, handling Sinhala and Tamil scripts, complex diacritics, and Gregorian/Buddhist date conversions for accurate onsite and offsite verification.
1. Linguistic and Script Complexity
Libya’s official language, Arabic, presents significant challenges for Optical Character Recognition (OCR) due to its unique characteristics:
Sinhala Script
Sinhala, the primary language of approximately 75% of Sri Lankans, uses an abugida script with over 54 base letters and numerous diacritical marks. This complexity poses challenges for OCR technology. For instance, letters such as "අ" (A) and "ආ" (AA) can appear similar but represent different sounds. Many Sinhala letters look alike, and subtle variations in diacritics can alter meanings, demanding high precision in OCR processing. Sinhala often lacks spaces between words, so Shufti’s OCR system uses AI to understand context and identify word boundaries
Tamil Script
Tamil, spoken by about 18% of Sri Lankans, has 12 vowels, 18 consonants, and 247 combinatory characters. The complexity of Tamil ligatures and multi-script documents adds to the OCR challenge. Tamil script features many ligatures formed by combining characters. Shufti’s OCR system uses sophisticated algorithms to detect and accurately separate these characters.
2. Diacritics in Sinhala and Tamil
Diacritics modify the pronunciation and meaning of letters. For instance, in Sinhala, "ක" (ka) can become "කි" (ki) with a diacritical mark. Tamil diacritics also change consonant sounds. Shufti’s OCR technology is adept at recognizing and differentiating diacritics, using NLP techniques to ensure accurate character recognition.
3. Continuous Text Without Spaces
Both Sinhala and Tamil often use continuous text without spaces, complicating word separation for OCR systems. Shufti’s solution employs AI to segment continuous text based on linguistic rules, ensuring accurate extraction of critical information.
4. Date Formats and Calendars
Gregorian Calendar: Sri Lankan documents, such as the National Identity Card and driver's license, use the Day-Month-Year format (e.g., 25-12-2020). Shufti’s OCR technology must handle various date formats within documents.
Buddhist Era Calendar: The Buddhist Era, used in some Sri Lankan documents, is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar. For example, 2023 Gregorian corresponds to the 2566 Buddhist Era. Shufti’s system automatically converts Buddhist Era dates to the Gregorian format for consistency.
A Merchant’s Guide to Identity Verification in Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, identity verification is governed by various regulations, with the key focus being on the Data Protection Act and (KYC) guidelines. These regulations outline how businesses must handle and process personal data during identity verification to protect individuals' privacy and prevent misuse. Merchants and service providers must ensure compliance with KYC and AML regulations to prevent fraud, money laundering, and other illegal activities. Non-compliance can result in severe penalties, including hefty fines and reputational damage. Shufti offers two Verification Modes: Onsite Verification Mode and Offsite Verification Mode - these modes allow merchants to choose the best approach based on their specific use cases and requirements.
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Download full report1. Verification Modes
Onsite Verification
The onsite verification process by Shufti offers an intuitive and direct interaction for end users through the sophisticated iFrame/Verify component. This user-centric approach enables individuals to seamlessly submit the required verification proofs, such as ID documents etc., while receiving real-time guidance to navigate the verification process effortlessly. Upon completion, the verification results are made readily available to clients through the comprehensive Back Office portal or can be conveniently delivered via an API response, providing flexible and efficient access to vital information.
Offsite Verification
The offsite verification process by Shufti is characterized by its efficient and straightforward approach. In this, clients are responsible for gathering the necessary verification proofs/data from end users. This process streamlines the collection of essential data, enabling clients to submit it directly to Shufti effortlessly for verification. The verification results are conveniently accessible either via the comprehensive Back Office portal or can be readily retrieved through an API response. This flexibility ensures clients have efficient access to critical information.
2. Document Types Selection
National ID Card: The national identity card (NIC) is the primary identification document in Sri Lanka, used for purposes such as banking, government services, and voting.
Older Version (Pre-2016):
The older NIC, introduced in the 1970s, features a simple design with a photograph, personal details, and a handwritten NIC number. It lacks modern security features, which makes it more vulnerable to forgery and less suitable for automated processing.
Newer Version (Post-2016):
In 2016, Sri Lanka introduced an updated version of the NIC with enhanced security features such as barcodes, QR codes, holograms, and machine-readable zones (MRZ). These new elements improve security, reduce the risk of fraud, and enable more reliable verification in digital and physical transactions.
Driving License:
Sri Lankan Driver's License
This is a commonly used identity document, featuring essential security elements like barcodes, holograms, and a photograph. It is a preferred document for identification in sectors like transportation, employment, and law enforcement.
Electronic Driver's License (eDL)
An emerging technology in Sri Lanka, eDLs use embedded chips to securely store personal and biometric data. This digital format enhances security and enables contactless verification but depends on compatible technology.
Passports: The Sri Lankan passport is a highly secure document used primarily for international travel. It includes biometric data and multiple layers of security, such as digital photographs and holograms, making it a strong choice for high-security identity verifications.
Credit/Debit Card: These are not recommended for identity verification in Sri Lanka as they are primarily financial instruments rather than identification documents.
3. Document Type Preference
and Performance
Different types of Sri Lanka identity documents yield varying success rates in verification:
ID Card
The robust security features and clear design of the Sri Lankan Smart ID card enhance Shufti's ability to deliver accurate and reliable verification, outperforming other systems.
Extraction Parameters: Name, date of birth, issue date, document number, expiry date, gender, nationality
Driver's License
A Sri Lankan driver's license is well-suited for KYC due to its comprehensive data and security features. Shufti's OCR technology guarantees high accuracy and conversion rates by effectively processing its diverse formats.
Extraction Parameters: Name, date of birth, issue date, document number, expiry date, face image, vehicle class
Passport
Shufti's advanced OCR systems are optimized to accurately capture and verify intricate details on the Sri Lankan passport, overcoming challenges posed by holograms and microtext for swift processing.
Extraction Parameters: Name, date of birth, issue date, document number, expiry date, gender, nationality, gender, place of issue, MRZ
4. Preferred Document for Identity Verification
At Shufti, we acknowledge the national ID card, passport, and driver's license as the preferred documents for identity verification in Sri Lanka. The national ID card stands out as the top choice due to its advanced security features and standardized format, while the Passport serves as an excellent alternative for international verification. The driver's license is also a viable option for individuals who do not possess a NIC. Our advanced OCR technology is optimized to accommodate the unique characteristics of these documents, ensuring quick and accurate data extraction for secure identity verification.
Verification Settings
1. Verification Mode (Onsite vs. Offsite)
Onsite verification is preferred in Sri Lanka for its higher accuracy and better control over the verification process.This is crucial in a market where document fraud can be a concern. Onsite methods leverage biometric and AI-driven technologies to ensure the authenticity and reliability of the verification process.
2. Data Extraction
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is crucial in Sri Lanka for accurately extracting data from identity documents issued in multiple languages, including Sinhala and Tamil. Advanced OCR systems are needed to navigate text variations, security features, and regional formats, efficiently processing both old and new document types like national ID cards and driver's licenses to ensure reliable data extraction.
3. Identity Document’s Backside Proof
In Sri Lanka, key details on documents like the national ID card and driver's licenses are usually found on the front, while the backside of the NIC contains the issue date, document number, and additional information. Moreover, Previous versions of the ID card contain all the personal details on the backside. To ensure all necessary data is captured and to maintain compliance, merchants should enable the Backside Proof Required parameter, preventing verification delays.
4. Real-Time Proof Capture Vs. Proof Upload
Sri Lankan identity documents can be verified through two flexible proof methods: real-time proof capture and proof upload, giving users the option to choose their preferred method based on convenience and accessibility.
Real-Time Proof Capture
With Shufti’s advanced auto-capture technology, capturing identity proofs in real-time ensures a smooth, efficient, and accurate verification process. This feature automatically detects the document and captures it without requiring user intervention, making it one of the fastest and most reliable options for verifying physical documents.
Proof Upload
Users also have the option to upload pre-captured images of the identity documents. The upload process is seamless, allowing documents to be verified hassle-free. This is ideal for users who already have pre-captured images of their identity documents and prefer a straightforward upload and verification process.
Merchants can enable Allow Online (real-time proof capture) and Allow Offline (proof upload) options available in the Verification setting tab. By offering both real-time capture and proof upload, Shufti ensures flexibility, providing the best user experience regardless of whether physical or electronic documents are being verified.
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