Identity verification in Botswana
Executive summary. Botswana is a well-governed Southern African country of approximately 2.6 million people with a stable economy driven by diamond mining and a growing financial-services sector. The AML/CFT framework is anchored in the Financial Intelligence Act (FIA), supervised by the Financial Intelligence Agency (also abbreviated FIA) as the national FIU. Botswana is an ESAAMLG member. The 20
Documents supported
(Government IDs from 220+ countries)
Average verification time
Countries covered
(Government-issued IDs validated)
Market overview
Botswana has a population of approximately 2.6 million and a GDP of roughly USD 20 billion, driven by diamond mining (Debswana), financial services, and tourism. Gaborone is the capital and commercial centre. Three verticals drive KYC demand:
Supported documents
Didit templates cover national IDs, passports, residence permits and regional documents — plus 14,000+ documents globally for cross-border flows.
Regulators
detailed CDD, record-keeping, and reporting requirements
supervises banks, payment-service providers, and bureaux de change
Department of Civil and National Registration
regulated
Omang (national ID card) is well-established with high coverage. Biometric data collected. Department manages both civil registration and national ID.
Government & regulated databases
Compliance framework
AML framework
Supervised by Financial Intelligence Regulations
- Financial Intelligence Act (FIA) — primary AML/CFT legislation, defining obliged entities, CDD/EDD, beneficial ownership, PEP screening, STR filing. The 2025 amendments strengthened the FIA's supervisory role and integrated virtual assets. - Financial Intelligence Regulations — detailed CDD, record-keeping, and reporting requirements. - Data Protection Act 2018 — comprehensive data protection legislation.
Data protection
Supervised by National DPA
The Data Protection Act 2018 provides comprehensive data protection, restricting cross-border transfers to countries with adequate protection. The Data Protection Commissioner oversees enforcement. Government databases including the Omang system are domestically hosted.
Use cases
Neobanks, EMIs, payment institutions, lenders, brokerages.
1. Document capture. Scan or photograph of the Omang card (front and back) or passport. 2. Liveness and biometric match. Selfie with liveness detection, matched against document portrait. 3. Data extraction. Omang number, full name (English and Setswana), date of birth, document expiry. 4. PEP and s
Exchanges, custodians, wallets, on/off-ramps.
Under the 2025 FIA amendments, VASPs and token issuers are explicitly obliged entities:
Sports betting, online casinos, age-gated platforms.
Botswana has a regulated gambling sector:
Gig platforms, delivery, creator economy, e-commerce.
Marketplace operators face CDD obligations through payment-service integration:
Biometric liveness
The Omang card includes biometric data collected during registration. Botswana passports are ICAO compliant. Liveness detection (ISO 30107-3 compliant) paired with document-portrait matching is the standard approach for remote onboarding. OCR must support both English and Setswana character recognition. ---
CERTIFICATIONS
Our platform meets the highest international standards for information security, data privacy, and biometric accuracy.
Full EU data protection compliance
Information security management
PAD (liveness + face match)
TRUSTED WORLDWIDE
Join thousands of companies that trust Didit for their verification needs
Didit’s NFC + active biometrics technology blocks the most advanced fraud scenarios, offering a level of security equivalent to or superior to in-person verification.
Spanish Financial Sandbox
CNMV, SEPBLAC & Spanish Treasury — Conclusions Report
Didit is an exceptionally valuable partner, delivering a stable and highly adaptable solution”.
Vuk Adžić
Head of the E-Business Department at Crnogorski Telekom
Didit offered us a robust technology with a simple implementation and adaptability to different markets”.
Fernando Pinto
CEO & CoFounder at TucanPay
Thanks to Didit we have been able to reduce manual processes and improve data extraction accuracy”.
Diana Garcia
Trust & Safety Executive at Shiply
Didit’s integration slashed verification times and costs, freeing resources for other projects”.
Guillem Medina
COO at GBTC Finance
Didit removed KYC costs, enabling faster scaling with high verification standards and less fraud.”
Paul Martin
VP Marketing & Growth at Bondex
Didit’s secure, user-friendly verification boosts customer trust and optimizes our process.”
Cristofer Montenegro
Executive assistant to the CEO at Adelantos
Didit ensures a precise, secure digital onboarding without slowing negotiations or client time.”
Ernesto Betancourth
Gerente de riesgos at CrediDemo
FAQ
Yes. Botswana permits remote KYC onboarding under its national AML framework, including document verification, biometric liveness and video identification where required by regulation.
Didit verifies all major national IDs, passports and residence permits issued in Botswana, plus 14,000+ document types globally for cross-border flows.
Didit charges $0.30 per verification with 500 free checks per month. No contracts, no minimums. Competitors typically charge $1.00–$2.50+ per verification.
Yes. Didit screens against 1,000+ global watchlists including PEP databases, sanctions lists (EU, UN, OFAC, OFSI), and adverse media — covering all AML obligations in Botswana.
Most regulated sectors in Botswana require or strongly recommend biometric liveness detection for remote onboarding. Didit provides ISO 30107-3 PAD Level 2 certified liveness.
Yes. Didit supports document verification, liveness, AML screening and ongoing monitoring aligned with Botswana’s crypto regulatory framework, including EU Travel Rule compliance where applicable.
Yes. Didit provides document-based age verification and identity confirmation suitable for Botswana’s iGaming regulatory requirements.
500 free verifications per month. No contracts, no minimums. $0.30 per verification after the free tier.
