Access Bank Declares Diamond Bank Cheque Books Invalid, As It Rolls Out Facial Recognition Payments System
The Oasis Reporters
March 6, 2020
Preparatory to its planned roll-out of a new technology payment solution in Nigeria, tagged ‘FacePay’ that leverages on facial recognition and AI, a new payments system that uses a combination of facial recognition and artificial intelligence, Access Bank Plc has henceforth declared Diamond Bank cheque books, invalid.
Access Bank as a strong top four bank in Nigeria’s hierarchy of banks playing strongly on the African continent while setting its eyes on the global stage took on then failing Diamond Bank as a merger partner that industry watchers called an outright acquisition, pure and simple.
Now it is wielding the big stick of recognition by asserting the senior partner role in declaring
that Cheque books with Diamond bank logo have become invalid beginning from the 1st of March 2020.
According to Access Bank, the decision to discontinue accepting cheque books bearing the logo of its merger partner is to increase efficiency in service delivery.
They further advised customers who want to get new cheque books to visit any of its branches and apply for one.
“In order to process your transactions more efficiently, we wish to inform you that effective March 1, 2020, we will discontinue honouring all cheques bearing the logo of the former Diamond Bank,” an email to customers read.
“This means that from the 1st of March, the Bank will no longer honour all cheques bearing the old logo of former Diamond. This is to enable us to process your transactions faster and more efficiently to ultimately serve you better.
“We are committed to making this process easy for you. You can walk into any branch… You can also contact your relationship officer.
“You will receive an SMS notification from your preferred pickup branch. Please visit this branch to collect your new Access Bank cheque book.”
In another development, it says that ‘‘FacePay enables more convenient payments in merchant locations and faster (withdrawals and transfers) in Access Bank branches,” the bank disclosed.
Access Bank says its technology will provide fast, seamless and convenient payments at merchant locations without using a card. Also, the financial institution claims the biometric payment system can help ease payments for individuals who are not comfortable with internet banking; or mobile apps, such as the elderly or under-educated.
Equally important, the face recognition payment system allows the platform to identify and verify the user; without the individual having to input passwords. Specifically, the technology works by matching unique facial dimensions of the customer against the BVN image to authenticate users.
Indeed, the FacePay platform enables a quicker and convenient way of carrying out transactions; especially as an alternative to cash, cards or mobile phones. For merchant payments, FacePay will enable the merchant to receive funds from paying customers; with an instant settlement of that fund into the Merchant’s account. While for Access Branches, FacePay covers Intra-transfers, Inter-transfers, and cash withdrawals at the branch.
