Get 100 free credits at sign up !
Welcome Offer: 100 free credits when you register!
Login 
Register

What Face ID is and Why It’s Changing Identity Verification in Saudi Arabia Forever

December 8, 2025
Face ID infographic showing authentication, facial data capture, security benefits, and use cases on a dark green background with a facial recognition icon.

The adoption of Face ID technology is rapidly increasing across businesses in Saudi Arabia. This is due to the enhanced security and accuracy it provides for securing accounts, transactions and devices, as well as its proven prevention of identity theft, making digital services more trustworthy.

Face ID also ensures seamless user experience, with enhanced ability of compliance and risk management, which allow companies to achieve operational efficiency, mitigate risks and cut down costs. If you are considering Face ID for your platform in Saudi Arabia or not sure about its value, we will dive into everything related to it in this blog.

What is Face ID?

Face ID refers to advanced facial recognition technology that verifies a person's identity using unique biological facial features. The primary objective of Face ID is to confirm that the user is truly who they claim to be, making fraud attempts extremely difficult compared to traditional security methods.

The Face ID process typically involves capturing a live image or short video, analyzing facial landmarks, and creating a secure mathematical template that is compared with the user input every time they log in. This information helps businesses prevent impersonation and in some cases detect suspicious activities instantly.

Face ID Utilization in Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, facial recognition for identity verification is increasingly becoming required and governed by regulatory authorities such as the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and the Capital Market Authority (CMA). This is specifically important for remote onboarding and KYC compliance applications.

Financial institutions, fintech companies, trading platforms, and digital service providers operating in the Kingdom are required to adopt strong identity verification methods like facial recognition or face ID. Face ID has emerged as one of the most reliable solutions to meet both local regulatory requirements in Saudi Arabia and international anti-money laundering (AML) standards.

Objectives of Face ID in Saudi Arabia

Prevention of Fraud and Account Theft

By implementing advanced Face ID with liveness detection, businesses can stop fraudsters from using photos, videos, deepfakes or masks to bypass verification in apps and devices. This helps prevent financial crimes such as identity fraud, account theft, and unauthorized transactions in fintech apps.

Enhancing Compliance

Robust facial recognition helps institutions comply with SAMA's KYC regulations and international AML guidelines. This contributes to protecting the financial transactions from being exploited for malicious purposes while meeting regulatory requirements that allow you to scale into new markets.

Protecting Users and Building Trust

Because face ID prevents account takeover, unauthorized transactions and identity theft. This gives customers confidence that their accounts and funds are genuinely secure, which can translate into trust and a stronger brand.

Maintaining Reputation 

Companies that adopt high quality Face ID solutions in terms of security and speed demonstrate commitment to security and innovation. This contributes to strengthening their brand in increasingly competitive digital markets.

How Modern Face ID Works

Live Capture and Liveness Detection

The system uses the device camera to capture a real-time image or video. It immediately checks for signs of life such as skin texture, light reflection, and micro-movements to ensure the person is physically present.

Biometric Analysis and Template Creation

Facial characteristics are measured and converted into an encrypted mathematical model. This template cannot be reversed into a real photo, ensuring privacy and security.

Secure Matching

The new captured image is compared to the stored one in less than a second with extremely high accuracy. This ensures fast verification without compromising security standards.

Anti-Spoofing Protection

Advanced systems block printed photos, screen replays, silicone masks, 3D masks and even deepfake videos. This provides powerful protection even against advanced fraud attempts.

Why Businesses in Saudi Arabia Need Face ID

Combating Identity Fraud in Real Time

Face ID with active and passive liveness detection stops fake account creation and unauthorized access before damage occurs. This allows platforms to identify and prevent fraud instantly.

Full Compliance with SAMA and CMA Regulations

For many businesses like banks and other finance businesses, remote customer onboarding using certified facial recognition is now an accepted method for meeting eKYC requirements. This helps businesses adhere to local and international regulations effectively.

Protecting Users and Their Funds

Verified identities mean criminals cannot easily withdraw money, trade illegally or exploit stolen credentials for malicious purposes. Face ID provides an additional layer of security that protects user accounts and funds with confirmation in every transaction.

Building Long-Term Trust

When users know their platform uses cutting-edge Face ID, they feel safer and more likely to engage. This contributes to enhancing customer loyalty and increasing platform sign up and usage.

Ready Solutions and Choosing the Right One 

To complete the Face ID implementation successfully, businesses can utilize readily developed face ID APIs that cut down effort and cost, while delivering a high level of security like Authentica. When choosing the right tool, you need to consider these factors:

  • Industry-leading accuracy with minimal false rejection rates.
  • Certified liveness detection that defeats photos, videos, masks and deepfakes.
  • Ultra-fast verification completed in under one second.
  • Full scalability for handling millions of daily verification requests.
  • Complete privacy through encrypted templates without storing raw images.
  • Seamless compliance with Saudi and international regulations.

All of these qualities are provided by Auithentica. If you need to learn more, you can get in touch with our experts for a free consultation. 

Conclusion

Face ID or face recognition plays a vital role in ensuring the security of digital transactions, accounts and devices. In Saudi Arabia, Face ID technology is governed by regulatory authorities, primarily the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and the Capital Market Authority (CMA), which means it can be obligatory in many cases. 

Table of Contents
Primary Item (H2)

Share This Article

A multi-channel OTP service platform is dedicated to enhancing the security of applications
Contact with us easily :
Support@authentica.sa
Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Alyasmin
©2025 Authentica | All Rights Reserved
chevron-down