Safaricom has introduced the SIM-Swap-Check solution, which restricts withdrawals from suspicious transactions to curb mobile money fraud.
According to Safaricom, the SIM-Swap-Check solution provides banks with an Application Programming Interface (API) to query when a customer’s SIM card was last swapped.
“It is, therefore, necessary for different players to partner around innovations that protect customers and their funds to safeguard the gains made,” said Safaricom Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa.
“At Safaricom, we have developed SIM-Swap-Check and ATM Vicinity Check solutions that we have made available to banks to empower them to reduce fraudulent transactions,” Mr Ndegwa said.
In addition to the SIM Swap Solution, Safaricom is also providing banks with an ATM Vicinity Check Solution that ensures an ATM withdrawal can only be conducted if the transacting customer is in the same location as the ATM.
A study paper on human-centred cybersecurity: Kenyan Fintech sector authored by Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) and commissioned by Trust4Cyber-Flagship Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH notes that: “Digital financial services (DFS) have a lot of promise to enhance people’s lives by enabling financial inclusion. Yet cybercrime has emerged as a major worry in the financial world and threatens to hinder progress toward financial resilience.”
“Accordingly, as cyber threats continue to be a threat and undermine financial resilience, areas targeted for fraud and which the financial sector must be alert to include ATM infrastructure, mobile banking infrastructure, third parties and vendors, and debit and credit systems. Identity management systems are another area in the financial sector vulnerable to sabotage and ransomware.”
