Tele2’s Growth Story: Turning Prepaid Verification into an Advantage

When Sweden introduced a law requiring all prepaid SIM users to register, Tele2 had to onboard nearly two million customers in record time. By partnering with Veriff, they turned a regulatory challenge into a smoother, safer, and more trusted digital experience: reducing fraud, improving customer satisfaction, and setting the stage for future growth.

Once we decided in November, we were up and running in December, less than one month, through a single API,” says Niklas Kagevik, Head of Product Management at Tele2.

Niklas Kagevik Head of Product Management Tele 2

A new regulatory reality

For years, prepaid customers in Sweden could remain anonymous, but the new law changed everything. Tele2 needed a way to register both new and existing prepaid users quickly and seamlessly, across 12 languages, while also keeping the process easy enough for less tech-savvy demographics. The solution also had to support Swedish citizens with BankID, but also tourists, expats, and international customers who rely on passports or other forms of ID.

“We were worried everyone would prefer going to a store to show a physical ID,” Kagevik admits. “But it was the opposite. Around 95% of customers now complete the verification online, and the experience is overwhelmingly positive.”

Choosing a flexible solution

To meet the challenge, Tele2 combined three different paths: in-store verification for those who preferred it, BankID for Swedish citizens, and Veriff for everyone else. Veriff’s global document coverage, fast onboarding flow, and smooth integration tipped the balance.

The process was surprisingly quick. Tele2 made the decision in November and was live by December, with integration handled through a single API. Most of the heavy lifting happened on Veriff’s side, with Tele2 only needing to embed the flow into its existing registration process. Business rules, like limiting customers to ten prepaid numbers or requiring them to be physically located in Sweden at the time of registration, were configured directly in the Veriff platform, without any additional development work.

Considering the complexity of the technology, it was a really smooth implementation,” Kagevik says. “We spent most of the time testing, both internally and with Veriff, to make sure the experience was consistent across all languages and easy to follow for all customers.

Niklas Kagevik Head of Product Management Tele 2

A smoother customer journey

The results quickly spoke for themselves. Customers now complete the verification process in around two minutes, with minimal drop-off and almost no complaints. Feedback has been positive across the board, with Net Promoter Scores consistently between 30 and 40 for the onboarding journey.

“The biggest fear was that identity verification would overwhelm customer service,” Kagevik recalls. “But the opposite happened. People understood it, did it online, and liked it. Our agents barely saw any additional volume.”

The system now handles around 50,000 new prepaid customers every month, with roughly 20% verified via Veriff and the rest through BankID. At the same time, Tele2 has been able to block suspicious activity, with around 20–30% of attempted onboardings denied because of fraud, outdated documents, or quota violations. Regular testing and configuration changes allow Tele2 to respond quickly when fraud patterns emerge, including coordinated attacks from outside markets.

Beyond compliance: building confidence

What started as a regulatory requirement has quickly become a source of confidence for the business. Tele2 can now launch marketing campaigns and onboard large volumes of customers without worrying about bottlenecks or fraud spikes. Customers trust the process, and the company has clear audit trails and minimized data storage to satisfy compliance requirements.

Perhaps most importantly, identity verification is now shaping the future of Tele2’s digital services. With the rise of eSIMs and digital-only products, seamless verification will become a cornerstone of how customers interact with the brand. “We’ll be using Veriff in more and more customer journeys going forward,” Kagevik says. “It’s a key enabler for a digital-first telco.”

Turning challenges into opportunities

Tele2’s experience shows how mandatory compliance doesn’t have to be a burden. By combining speed, inclusivity, and trust, identity verification has helped the company not only meet legal requirements but also enhance its customer experience and strengthen its fraud defenses.

As Kagevik puts it: “What could have been a challenge turned out to be smooth, fast, and well liked by our customers. That gives us real confidence to grow.”