In the middle of August, Lydia can be very useful if you go on vacation with friends. But the application has been pointed out for a few months for its lack of efficiency in its use, adding steps to carry out a simple transaction. The reason? A stricter legislative framework that Lydia had to adhere to.
Thus, last May, Lydia ended up complying with European legislation that reinforced the framework for payment applications, which came into force in 2021. This new framework obliges these applications to impose double authentication on users before any transaction. With this two-factor authentication, the user must provide a password, phone number, or fingerprint or facial print to confirm a payment.
Fight against fraud
Security has also been strengthened in the application through identity verification, which is a legal obligation for Lydia. It allows “fighting against fraud and guaranteeing the general security of the application”, writes the company in its Frequently Asked Questions space.
Now, to verify their account, a user must provide their place of residence, a video of the ID card being tilted to verify its authenticity, a selfie video during which the user must speak the words displayed on the screen, and a signature. electronics.
Lydia’s teams are then in charge of checking all the files sent. It can take a few days and they may ask the user to return the parts if they are found to be non-compliant. Lydia can also decide to block the account after a certain time if the submissions are inconclusive.
The number of users stagnates
During a transaction, users need to be patient again. Before making any payment, even a small amount, at least the amount indicated from the attached bank account must be credited to Lydia’s account, an operation that was previously carried out automatically during a payment. Similarly, to recharge your balance, you must enter a four-digit numeric code.
Faced with these complications of use, users get annoyed and share their anger on social networks. In addition, this directly impacts Lydia and Antoine Portes, the founder of Lydia acknowledges this with Release: “The number of app downloads has not increased since May 2023.”
Lydia faces another difficulty: the reluctance of the banks. AND Release point out that a bank like Axa refuses its customers to use the services of the application. They cannot enter their IBAN and therefore cannot create an account.
Eventually, the unicorn wants to become a real bank. It is already possible to benefit, for example, from microcredits through Lydia+. “We want to become the checking account for all French people,” says the app’s founder, who celebrated his tenth birthday last March.
Source: BFM TV
