Identity verification in Sierra Leone
Executive summary. Sierra Leone is a member of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) with an AML/CFT framework governed by the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Financing of Terrorism Act 2012 (as amended 2019), supervised by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-SL). GIABA's 2021 mutual evaluation found significant deficiencies in both technical c
Documents supported
(Government IDs from 220+ countries)
Average verification time
Countries covered
(Government-issued IDs validated)
Market overview
Sierra Leone has a population of approximately 8.6 million and a GDP of roughly USD 4.2 billion. Freetown is the capital and commercial centre. The economy is driven by mining (diamonds, iron ore, rutile, gold), agriculture, and services. 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 requirements for banks and financial institutions
National FIU, receiving and analysing STRs
Supervises banks, community banks, microfinance institutions, and mobile money operators
NCRA
restricted
Established to manage civil registration and national ID issuance. Biometric registration ongoing but coverage limited.
Government & regulated databases
Compliance framework
AML framework
Supervised by BSL Guidelines on AML/CFT
- Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Financing of Terrorism Act 2012 (as amended 2019) — Defines CDD, risk-based approach, beneficial ownership, PEP screening, and STR reporting. - BSL Guidelines on AML/CFT — Detailed CDD requirements for banks and financial institutions. - Companies Act 2009 — Company registration and corporate governance. - No comprehensive data protection legislation.
Data protection
Supervised by National DPA
No comprehensive data protection legislation. Constitutional privacy provisions apply. No formal cross-border data transfer restrictions.
Use cases
Neobanks, EMIs, payment institutions, lenders, brokerages.
1. Document capture. NCRA ID card or passport. 2. Liveness and biometric match. Selfie with liveness detection, matched against document portrait. 3. Data extraction. NIN, full name, date of birth, address. 4. PEP and sanctions screening. Against EU, UN, OFAC lists and PEP databases. 5. Ongoing moni
Exchanges, custodians, wallets, on/off-ramps.
No VASP framework. BSL has not formally addressed virtual assets. General AML obligations apply.
Sports betting, online casinos, age-gated platforms.
Gambling is regulated under the National Lottery Act and related legislation. Where applicable:
Gig platforms, delivery, creator economy, e-commerce.
1. Seller identity verification — NCRA ID or passport. 2. Mobile money account verification — linked to registered SIM. 3. Tax identification — TIN for business sellers. 4. Ongoing monitoring for unusual patterns.
Biometric liveness
The NCRA ID card is biometric (facial image, fingerprints). NFC-based chip reading is technically feasible but not commercially deployed. Liveness detection (ISO 30107-3 compliant) with document-portrait matching is the standard for remote onboarding. ---
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. Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone, 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 Sierra Leone.
Most regulated sectors in Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone’s crypto regulatory framework, including EU Travel Rule compliance where applicable.
Yes. Didit provides document-based age verification and identity confirmation suitable for Sierra Leone’s iGaming regulatory requirements.
500 free verifications per month. No contracts, no minimums. $0.30 per verification after the free tier.
