How to make digital banking safe and secure with two-factor authentication
Banking is considered to be one of the most sensitive business domain. This is mainly because banking units directly deal with money. Additionally, these units are trusted by millions of individuals. These facts make banking security a primal point. Transactional bulk SMS service provider in India comprehend with this detail and thereby offer banking institutions smart bulk SMS and voice call services. Today, the majority of banking activities are performed by customers online. May it be fund transfers, payments and purchases, UPI transactions or money withdrawals. With digitalization into action, only a few percentages of banking activities are now confined within bank campuses. To make digital banking safe and secure, bulk SMS proves to be a prompt solution. Let us take a brief look at the use of SMS solutions in secure digital banking.
Why is it crucial to make digital banking secure and safe?
Say, for instance, a customer wishes to make an online transfer from one account to another using NEFT services. To do so, the user has its predefined username and transaction password which needs to be entered while making a transfer. However, there are various ways by which these user credentials can be hacked or retrieved by unauthorized individuals. With this possibility taken into account, there are chances that unauthorized individuals and data hackers can consume and withdraw money from your customers’ accounts without you or the customer having any information.
You as a banking unit would surely not want any such fraudulent activity to take place with your customers. Now let us consider what could happen if you add another layer of authentication for customers while performing the above-mentioned transaction. Along with user credentials, you can ask the user to enter a dynamic, real-time generated password that is received only by the authorized person. The transaction can only be completed when the user enters all credentials appropriately. To enable your institution with such a feature comes to bulk SMS services and bulk voice calls. Yes, you read me right!
Two-factor authentication from transactional bulk SMS service provider
The process of entering of dynamic passcode with predefined user credentials while performing digital transactions is known as 2FA or two-factor authentication. In this process, the banking units send their customers instant passcodes via SMS or voice call at the time of transaction. To complete a specific transaction, the user must feed in this code with user credentials in a given time limit. Since the code can be received only on the authorized mobile phone, transactions become fairly secure and virtually guarded.
What makes 2FA a smart security feature?
There are essentially two features that make two-factor authentication a smart choice for banking units Let us briefly look at these features.
- Dynamic code generation
Transactional bulk SMS service providers have gauged a prompt OTP gateway APIs that are known for prompt passcode generation and transmission. These codes are often a random combination of numbers that are practically impossible for any hacker to decode. The numeric code is instantly generated and sent to the authorized user within no time and thus proves to be completely secured.
- Time boundation
Another feature of 2FA is its time-bound activity slot. In simple words, the sent passcode is valid only for a short period. Once this time slot is expired, the code holds no significance and thus a new code must be requested. This makes it even more difficult to hack the code and thus make digital transactions digitally guarded against hackers and frauds.
Ways to implement 2FA in your banking institution
If you are wondering how can you implement 2FA within your banking institution then transactional SMS services and bulk voice calls is what you should look for? Both of these ways are highly effective and responds to 2FA standards in complete passion. Let us look at each of these methods closely.
- Bulk voice calls
Just as the name indicates, bulk voice calling is a technique where the authentication code is delivered to the concerned recipient by using the calling feature. In this technique, the receiver receives a computerized call. Once the call is answered, an IVR tone spells the 6 or 8 digits alpha-numeric passcode. IVR technology has been long into marketing practice and proves to be a reliable technique for transactional services too.
- Bulk SMS services
Another popular technique used for 2FA is bulk SMS services. Comprehending with mobile technology, every mobile phone has an active messaging account using which it can send/receive short messages (or SMS). Banking units can exploit this active account and send their customers a dynamic 2FA code via SMS services. Similar to bulk voice calls, the OTP gateway generates random alpha-numeric code and sends it to the user in a predefined template via transactional SMS gateway routes. Since these transactions are time-bounded, the gateway ensures SMS delivery in the least possible time by choosing the shortest messaging route.
Here it is worth mentioning that both 2FA techniques, namely bulk voice calls and SMS services are prompt and responsive. Once the transaction is triggered, the OTP gateway sends dynamic code to the user with a second or two. With such facts into consideration, it won’t be incorrect to comment that 2FA is one of the best ways to enable secure digital banking in India.
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