The consequences of these attacks vary, but they always affect the companies that are prey to them, as they can lose millions of euros and suffer a reputational crisis due to a loss of customer confidence, and the end users, whose privacy may be exposed.
Thus, strengthening companies’ security equipment and tools is essential to prevent these damages. Open Gateway is an initiative of the GSMA, in which Telefónica participates, that turns networks into platforms to help create new financial and insurance services. Within the framework of CAMARA it exposes capabilities through standardised telco APIs, which, among other services, offer different tools to improve customer protection, simplify payments and streamline processes.
Solutions provided by Open Gateway for financial and insurance services
It optimises applications
Open Gateway enables developers to create new, more innovative and more comprehensive applications. This initiative accelerates the development and growth of new financial and insurance services, thus benefiting the entire ecosystem.
Thanks to Open Gateway, hyperscalers, aggregators and service developers, regardless of the size and capacity of their company, can create new and higher-quality services by means of a single development that’s compatible with all the telco networks. In addition to ensuring the security of companies and users, Open Gateway’s APIs can streamline onboarding and user authentication processes to make them simpler and more secure, given that they don’t require as many personal data.
Other APIs that can help developers to cope with cyberattacks and protect users’ digital identities include those specialising in anti-fraud services (Number Verification and SIM Swap), which provide more security and privacy for users.
It boosts business
In addition to benefiting developers, Open Gateway also assists companies to businesses can benefit from these solutions in financial and insurance environments. One of the priorities, if not the main priority, of any company is to ensure that its customers are satisfied with what it has to offer. The company has to repay the trust they place in it with a high-quality service.
Open Gateway’s financial and insurance solutions reinforce security within the company, reduce any risk of fraud it may suffer from and simplify its payment processes to make its transactions easier and more secure. The APIs can expand the company’s coverage and receive payments from customers, regardless of the country they’re in, thereby removing the barrier to entering new markets. They also permit easy integration into platforms and systems thanks to the incorporation of carrier billing as a payment method. It can charge the amount to the monthly invoice without the need to enter the bank card’s private code. This improves the users’ purchase experience, making their transactions easier and more secure.
Avoid identity theft
One of the solutions that Open Gateway APIs offer is that they help developers and businesses avoid identity theft. People shop, authorize payments and chat online on a daily basis. The personal information, such as our home address, mobile number and name, are spread across different digital platforms and databases. This is a goldmine for cybercriminals. Developers and companies are therefore constantly improving their security with different tools and measures.
The KYC-Match API facilitates the validation of contact information supplied by users by verifying reliable data stored in the databases of financial institutions. This streamlines the digital onboarding process while minimising the risks associated with potential identity fraud. The APIs known as SIM Swap (to detect and manage SIM card exchanges), Number Verification (to improve the security of users’ identities and credentials) and Device Location (to verify a device’s geographic location) can also help to prevent identity theft.
The Open Gateway initiative was unveiled at the 2023 Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest technology and connectivity event, and since then it has continued to evolve with a wide range of solutions for enterprises and developers. Interested? You can continue learning about how to leverage the capabilities of the network to optimize digital services and usher in a new generation of experiences.
