e-KYC is KYC carried out without the customer present. The methods differ in strength. At one end, the customer photographs an identity document and takes a selfie, and software checks the document's features and matches the face. At the other, the customer authorises a government digital identity scheme to confirm who they are, and the issuing government returns the data. In between sit NFC reads of a document's chip and video calls with an agent.
What the regulators say
Schedule 2 of the AMLO treats a customer who is not physically present as higher risk and asks for one extra measure, unless the identity was verified through a recognised digital identification system. The HKMA's 2026 circular on remote onboarding asks for two things: identity authentication, that the document and data are genuine, and identity matching, that the customer is the person the document describes. The SFC lists acceptable account-opening approaches that include iAM Smart. MAS and the UAE regulators take the same position: electronic evidence is acceptable when it comes from a reliable and independent source.
Why it matters
Document-and-selfie e-KYC is now the target of generated images and deepfakes, and a scan cannot show who confirmed it. A government scheme has no image to forge and records who confirmed the identity and when.
How Fill Easy relates to it
GovVerify is e-KYC from the government: iAM Smart, China eID, Singpass and UAE Pass behind one API, one consent flow and one signed audit record. Prudential's NFC e-KYC case study shows the chip-read route for Mainland customers.