Innov8tif Adds MyDigital ID Checks to eKYC for Malaysian Banks and E-Wallets

Malaysian businesses that sign up customers online have a new way to check that a person is who they claim to be. Identity verification firm Innov8tif has connected its EMAS eKYC platform to MyDigital ID, the government’s national digital identity service, so a customer’s details can be checked against official records during remote onboarding.

The move gives banks, e-wallets, insurers and telcos an extra layer of protection at a time when fraudsters are using AI-made faces and forged documents to open accounts.

Key facts

• Innov8tif announced on 23 October 2026 that its EMAS eKYC (electronic know-your-customer) platform now supports MyDigital ID verification.
• The check is matched against records held by the National Registration Department (JPN), which issues the MyKad identity card.
• It covers MyKad holders aged 12 and above, including holders of the New Generation MyKad, and customers do not need to install the MyDigital ID app.
• MyDigital ID says it has 14.5 million users and 204 integrations, with more than 90 million logins since August 2025.

What changes in online onboarding

Most Malaysians have already gone through eKYC: when you open a digital bank account or upgrade an e-wallet, the app asks you to photograph your MyKad and take a selfie. Platforms such as EMAS then check two things. First, that the card looks genuine and has not been tampered with. Second, that the face in the selfie matches the photo on the card.

The weakness is that both checks rely on what the customer shows the camera. A very good fake card, or a computer-generated face fed straight into the phone’s camera stream, can sometimes slip through. Innov8tif’s new step adds a third check: it confirms the identity details against the national registry through MyDigital ID. If the person does not exist in official records, or the details do not line up, the application can be stopped.

Innov8tif says the combined approach is designed to catch several types of attack that worry compliance teams:

• Deepfakes: AI-generated faces or videos that imitate a real person.
• Synthetic identities: made-up people built by mixing real and invented details.
• Virtual camera injection: software that feeds a pre-recorded or fake video into the app instead of the live camera.
• Presentation spoofing: holding up a printed photo, screen or mask to fool the selfie check.

Laurence Liong, Innov8tif’s chief commercial officer, described the link-up as a way to combine national identity infrastructure with eKYC technology so firms can cut fraud and make onboarding smoother. MyDigital ID chief executive Nik Hisham Nik Ibrahim said he sees room to extend the platform further into the private sector.

What it means for Malaysians

For consumers, the change should be largely invisible. You still scan your MyKad and take a selfie, but there is an added background check that makes it harder for someone to open a bank or e-wallet account in your name. Because the app is not required, people who have not registered on MyDigital ID are not shut out of this check. The inclusion of the New Generation MyKad also matters: some apps struggled to read the new card when it was introduced in September, so wider support helps.

For banks, e-wallets and fintechs, stronger identity checks help with customer due diligence and anti-money laundering (AML) duties. Firms licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the central bank, must know who their customers are, and fake or “mule” accounts are a common route for moving scam proceeds. Catching a bogus identity at sign-up is far cheaper than chasing stolen funds later.

For insurers and telcos, the same tool can be used for policy applications and SIM registration, where identity fraud is also a concern.

For MyDigital ID itself, this is another step from a login tool for government services towards a wider identity layer for the private sector. That growth will bring closer attention to reliability and data handling. MyDigital ID says it does not keep users’ biometric data, and businesses using it will need clear back-up plans if the service is down.

What to watch

• Whether major banks, digital banks and e-wallet operators adopt registry-backed checks as standard for new accounts.
• How quickly MyDigital ID grows its private-sector integrations beyond the 204 it reports today.
• Any guidance from BNM or other regulators on using national digital identity in eKYC and anti-scam controls.

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Read more: Inside Malaysia’s e-wallet war and How Malaysia’s payment system works.

Sources: Fintech News Malaysia (October 2026); Biometric Update (October 2026).