ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) on Wednesday made it clear that its biometric system was fully functional, and any authentication issues encountered by users were not due to its database.

Responding to public concerns over biometric verification failures faced by citizens at banks and telecom operators, voiced through social media platforms, Nadra said it was providing verification services to banking and telecom industry to fulfil their regulatory requirement.

“In the light of the instructions issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to all banks, financial institutions have the option to verify customers through Nadra’s Verisys system, which is already available to them. This system ensures secure identity verification, reducing dependency on fingerprint authentication,” it explained in a statement.

Verisys is being provided through a secured connectivity link and mostly provided to regulated institutions and government entities. CNIC, National ID card for Overseas (NICOP), and Pakistan Origin Card (POC) numbers can be verified through Verisys.

A Nadra official said it was for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to bound banks and mobile phone companies, respectively, to use Verisys to confirm the identity of individuals. The Nadra statement said for issuance of SIMs and other telecom services, the PTA, along with cellular mobile operators, has already placed a mechanism with the help of Nadra to facilitate such subscribers at Customer Services Centres (CSC) and selected franchises.

Nadra advised citizens to follow the procedures outlined by PTA and if they have any complaint in this regard, they may launch it with their telecom operator and PTA.

To further facilitate citizens, Nadra has been proactively engaging with the State Bank and the PTA to introduce facial recognition as an alternative verification method for cases where fingerprint authentication fails.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2025