Banks, telcos to chuck OTPs, adopt silent authentication

Mumbai: Top private sector banks and telecom companies are replacing one-time passwords (OTPs) and are jointly developing a ‘silent authentication mechanism’—a background check that verifies whether the mobile number linked to a banking app matches the SIM currently active on the device.

If a discrepancy is detected, the transaction can be flagged or blocked in real time without any action required from the customer. The technology will also be extended to eSIM environments. This additional layer of verification is designed to eliminate fraud arising from SIM cloning and unauthorised eSIM swaps—two of the more sophisticated methods used by fraudsters to intercept OTPs.