Icasa proposes biometric checks for SIM cards to fight fraud
The Independent Communications Authority of SA has published draft regulations that would make mobile operators verify subscribers' biometric data, such as fingerprints. The rules aim to combat SIM-swap fraud and are open for public comment.
The draft is called the Numbering Plan Fifth Amendment Regulations, 2026. It would apply to new and existing subscribers. Operators would check biometric data when a number is activated or reactivated and when a SIM swap takes place.
Icasa councillor Dikeledi Catherine Mushi, who chairs the Numbering Resources Committee, defended the plan in an interview on The Money Show. She said Icasa had no choice but to introduce biometric verification. She said the authority must make sure every number has a person behind it.
Mushi said the authority chose a less disruptive option. In her words: "We could have chosen to completely overhaul the numbering plan regulations and say, 'let's press a restart button'."
She said biometric checks could verify a person within seconds, as with a fingerprint held by Home Affairs.
Key facts
- Who
- Dikeledi Catherine Mushi (Icasa councillor and chairperson of the Numbering Resources Committee); Stephen Grootes (interviewer on The Money Show); Independent Communications Authority of SA (communications regulator that published the draft regulations)
- What
- The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) published draft regulations requiring mobile operators to verify subscribers' biometric data, such as fingerprints, for new and existing subscribers when activating or reactivating numbers and in SIM swaps. Icasa councillor Dikeledi Catherine Mushi defended the proposal in an interview on The Money Show.
- When
- 29 October 2026
- Where
- South Africa
- Status
- Reported