Olasiyan, who serves as regional head at identy.io, said traditional security measures are no longer sufficient to combat increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics targeting bank customers.
Speaking ahead of an executive roundtable focused on mobile biometric innovation for Nigerian banks, he explained that integrating AI-powered facial recognition and fingerprint authentication into banking systems could significantly reduce unauthorised access to customer accounts.
According to him, tying financial transactions directly to a customer’s biometric identity would make it far more difficult for criminals to exploit stolen cards, passwords, or account details.
“The new technology we are bringing will help prevent that because transactions will be tied to biometrics, specifically a person’s face and fingerprints,” he said.
“With that, nobody can use your credit card or access your account unless they have your biometric information,” he added.
Olasiyan noted that one of the major advantages of the system is the inclusion of “liveness detection” technology, an AI-powered security feature designed to verify that biometric information being presented belongs to a real person physically present during the transaction.
The technology, he explained, is intended to block attempts involving manipulated photos, cloned identities, or digitally generated images.
As cybercriminals increasingly deploy advanced fraud techniques, Olasiyan warned that deepfake technology and stolen online images are becoming major threats to digital banking security.
“We are introducing AI-powered systems that can prevent spoofing attempts, such as someone taking your image from social media platforms like LinkedIn and trying to use it to access your account,” he said.
He acknowledged that Nigerian banks had already made important progress through the introduction of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system, which improved customer identity tracking and reduced certain forms of financial fraud.
However, he stressed that fraud schemes are becoming more advanced, requiring stronger and smarter authentication systems powered by Artificial Intelligence.
Beyond fraud prevention, Olasiyan said mobile biometric verification could also improve customer experience by simplifying account opening and verification processes.
Instead of depending heavily on physical branches or third-party agents, customers would be able to complete onboarding and identity confirmation securely through their smartphones.
He also raised concerns about the storage and control of sensitive biometric data, insisting that Nigeria must maintain sovereignty over citizens’ identity records.
“Biometric databases should remain in Nigeria. Sensitive identity data should not be hosted abroad or entirely in the cloud without local control,” he stated.
According to him, integrating advanced AI tools into the Automated Biometric Identification System already used by financial institutions could improve both fraud detection and identity verification nationwide.
Industry analysts say the push for AI-powered biometric systems comes at a time when Nigerian banks are under increasing pressure to strengthen cybersecurity protections amid rising digital banking adoption and growing incidents of online financial fraud.