Ooredoo Maldives has presented its new AI-powered electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) system at the Mobile World Congress in Doha, marking a major step in the country’s shift toward fully digital customer onboarding and next-generation tourism services. The solution, which is already live across the company’s digital SIM activation channels, is designed to automate identity verification, speed up registrations and significantly reduce fraud, laying the groundwork for a more convenient connectivity experience for visitors staying at resorts and hotels across the Maldives, as well as for local customers.
The new eKYC system captures ID information, performs liveness checks, matches facial identity, and automatically approves SIM provisioning without the need for physical forms or in-person queues. According to Ooredoo, onboarding time has dropped from around 60 seconds to roughly 10 seconds, with more than 90 percent of registrations approved instantly. The platform also integrates fraud-detection capabilities able to identify altered photos and fake IDs, which enhances security for both the operator and its hospitality partners who rely on reliable mobile services to support their guests’ stay.
Ooredoo explains that the process runs through a multi-layered verification pipeline, including AI-based ID capture, optical character recognition, field validation, anti-spoofing checks, and instant SIM activation once verification thresholds are met. The entire journey is paperless and can be completed entirely from a phone, enabling travellers to activate a local SIM card even before they check into a resort, or from the comfort of their villa or hotel room. For resort operators, this creates opportunities to integrate connectivity into the guest arrival experience, from airport transfers to on-island check-in, while reducing the need for physical documentation and manual processing.
Khalid Al-Hamadi, CEO and Managing Director of Ooredoo Maldives, said, “As a leading tourist destination, the Maldives must offer more than natural beauty. We must offer world-class digital experiences. Providing fast, reliable connectivity and smart digital solutions to every visitor and every local is crucial to our mission.” For the tourism sector, this vision translates into smoother digital services at resorts, where guests increasingly expect high-speed connectivity for work, entertainment, and travel planning, and where operators are investing heavily in smart-room technologies, digital concierge services, and app-based experiences.
The company notes that the eKYC rollout supports broader national goals for a “Digital Maldives,” improving convenience for customers and reducing operational inefficiencies. For resorts and guesthouses, the technology can help streamline the process of helping guests obtain local SIMs and data plans, reduce waiting times during peak check-in periods, and enhance overall service quality. The introduction of AI-driven verification places the Maldives in line with global trends in telecom onboarding, where intelligent, fully digital processes are becoming the industry standard, and strengthens the country’s position as a premium destination that combines natural beauty with sophisticated digital infrastructure.
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