Mongolia's MobiCom, a subsidiary of Japan's KDDI, has introduced fingerprint authentication based on the national KHUR digital information exchange system.
With the move, MobiCom has become the first operator to arrange compatibility with the KHUR system.
Mongolian customers will be able to use fingerprint authentication to take advantage of more than 100 service offerings without the need to present an ID card.
KHUR was developed as an integrated national population database used by government authorities to offer registration, taxation, social insurance, and other services to citizens.
It adds biometric capabilities to the Mongolian national ID card, which is required for completing public procedures such as voting. MobiCom has linked its sales management system to the database to enable personal identification authentication based on fingerprint verification.
As well as existing capabilities, MobiCom plans to use the link to KHUR to develop new telecoms and finance services for the Mongolian market.
MobiCom is Mongolia's largest mobile operator by subscribers. The company was founded in 1995 and today provides mobile, fixed line and satellite services as well as a range of ICT services. KDDI has been an investor in the operator since it was founded, and became the majority owner in March 2016.