New Account Checks

Opening a customer file without a branch visit

New Account Checks are for businesses that need a live identity step before a new customer file is activated. The customer joins a short guided video session, shows an identity document, and the agent checks the document details against the person on camera before the account moves forward.

This works well for banks, credit providers, insurers, rental counters, loyalty schemes and other businesses that carry customer risk at onboarding. The process can sit inside an existing digital sign-up flow, or run as a separate check after a form is submitted. It is common where the onboarding team needs a clear audit trail, a recorded consent step and a controlled way to view the person, the document and any supporting details together.

Our team plans the session around your account opening rules, the fields you already capture, and the point where the check must happen. Some clients want the verification before approval, others place it after preliminary checks but before access is granted. Both approaches can be mapped into a live process that fits the way your staff work.

What the session includes on screen

The session is built around a guided flow with clear prompts for the customer and the agent. A typical setup includes ID document capture, face comparison, liveness checks, consent capture and notes for the account record. The agent can ask the customer to reposition the document, adjust lighting, or repeat a step if the image is not clear enough for review.

• South African ID book, smart ID card or passport handling, depending on your rule set
• Front and back document capture where the document type needs both sides
• Face match against the live video image and the document photo
• Liveness steps such as movement prompts or short guided actions
• Consent capture and retention notes for audit files
• Session outcome tags for approved, refer, retry or fail

The check can be adapted for higher-risk products, lower-risk signups, and customer groups that need extra screening. Where a business uses extra proof points, the workflow can include those prompts without making the session feel cluttered.

Options for lighter intake or tighter control

Not every business needs the same level of checking. Some need a short, low-friction check for routine account opening, while others need a stricter sequence with extra manual review. We set up the workflow so the session length, document set and decision path match the account risk rather than forcing every customer through the same process.

• Standard onboarding flow for everyday account opening
• Enhanced review flow for higher value or higher risk accounts
• Agent-led sessions where staff guide every step
• Scripted customer self-serve journey with agent oversight
• Manual escalation route for unclear images or mismatched details

These options help when a business onboards customers across Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban or Gqeberha, but wants one process that works across all sites and remote teams. The same setup can also be tuned for Midrand and Sandton client teams that manage larger intake volumes from a central office.

How the service fits into your onboarding stack

New Account Checks are usually linked into a website form, customer portal or internal case queue. The integration plan covers how the session starts, how the customer is identified, where the result is stored and how the account team sees the outcome. Our team also maps the handoff between operations, verification staff and the people who open the file.

Integration planning can include API coordination, workflow mapping, pilot launch support and go live stabilising. For businesses with in-house developers, we set out the data fields, status updates and review flags needed for a clean handover. For teams with no technical staff on the verification side, we keep the operational instructions plain and practical so the account opening path remains easy to manage.

Staff training is part of the handover, especially where team members need to know how to handle unclear documents, poor camera quality or customers who pause during the session. That training also covers script design, escalation design and the notes that should sit on the record when a file is referred.

Specs and control points for the account file

The check is a service layer rather than a physical product, but the operating details still need to be clear before launch. These are the practical points that help the account team, the verification team and the client system stay aligned.

• Session type: live remote video verification
• Document capture: front image, back image or single-page capture as required
• Comparison points: face image, document details, and liveness prompts
• Record keeping: consent notes, session logs and outcome status
• Review mode: automatic pass path, manual review, or escalation queue
• Operating area: remote service for South African businesses across major centres

Where your account process includes more than one product line, the session can be split into separate rules for each line. That makes it easier to hold different thresholds for retail accounts, rental accounts or higher-risk onboarding streams without changing the whole system each time.

Care, quality checks and day-to-day use

The main care requirement is keeping the workflow clean. Session scripts should stay current, document prompts should match the latest account rule set, and any agent guidance should be checked against the live process rather than left to drift. Quality monitoring is useful here, because small changes in wording or sequence can affect how customers move through the session.

Refresh training helps when new staff join or when the account team changes the order of steps. Operational reporting can show where files are being referred, where customers are dropping out, and where a clearer prompt would reduce repeat handling. If the review team spots a pattern, the script or escalation route can be adjusted without rebuilding the whole service.

For businesses with several branches or regional offices, the same rules can be applied in a consistent way while still allowing local admin teams to manage their own queues. That matters in coastal cities too, where staff turnover and seasonal volume can shift the pressure on the onboarding counter.

Details to send when setting up New Account Checks

To shape the service properly, we need the account type, the identity documents you accept, the point in the onboarding flow where the check must happen, and any extra review steps your team already uses. It also helps to know whether the customer is signed up through a portal, a branch-assisted process or a mixed channel model.

Please include the fields you capture, the status options you want in the system, the cases that must be escalated, and whether your staff need training on the session or only on the outcome handling. If you already have an approval matrix, that can be mapped into the workflow so the record stays clear from first check to final decision.

Clients contact us through our contact form on our contact page, and the service can be planned for teams in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Gqeberha, with support for nearby offices when needed.