Recently, I’ve noticed that more and more people are discussing what e-kyc is. In fact, this system has already become widely used in our daily lives—especially in banking and financial services.

The traditional KYC method requires you to go in person to a counter and bring your identification documents for verification by staff, which wastes time and is troublesome. Later on, it evolved into an electronic version—e-kyc is a way to verify identity through electronic systems. Users can complete the entire process directly on their phone or computer, without having to go out, which is why so many places are promoting this system now.

At present, there are mainly three authentication methods. Biometrics is the most common—your identity is confirmed by scanning your face or fingerprint, such as when unlocking your phone or making transfers via mobile banking. There is also OCR technology: scanning your ID card or bank passbook, with the system automatically recognizing and converting it into a digital format, eliminating the hassle of manual entry. In addition, there is the NDID system, which is especially commonly used by banks in Thailand; it verifies identity by scanning the face and ID card.

Speaking of the benefits of this e-kyc approach, there are indeed quite a few. First and foremost, the most direct advantage is convenience and speed: you can register anytime and anywhere on your own device, without having to queue specifically at an office. Second, it is low-cost—you save on transportation expenses and also reduce paper waste. From a security perspective, digital verification methods have higher encryption levels, so there’s basically no need to worry about documents being forged or tampered with. Moreover, this system can be used by banks, government departments, and various financial institutions, making it highly versatile.

Of course, it’s not perfect. Some older users may not be very familiar with this electronic process, and they may run into operational difficulties, which also gives some bad actors an opportunity to trick them into obtaining their information. So, when promoting it, how to ensure that people of all age groups can use it safely still requires further improvement.

Compared with traditional KYC, e-kyc is clearly a step ahead. With the traditional method, you need to go to the site in person; you might have to wait in line, and the whole process is slow and prone to errors. The electronic version can be completed remotely—much faster—and because it’s handled automatically by the system, the accuracy is also higher. From the standpoint of security, the combination of digital encryption and biometrics is more reliable than easily forged paper documents. In terms of user experience, being able to complete all verification from the comfort of home is an advantage that traditional methods simply can’t match.

Now, industries including finance, banking, and insurance are speeding up adoption of this system. From opening accounts to investing, and to various insurance products, most processes basically require going through the e-kyc flow. This is not only to make life more convenient for users, but even more importantly to protect personal data from being leaked and to ensure the security of users’ information. It seems that electronic identity verification has become the direction of the times, and this method will only become more and more widespread in the future.