As more everyday transactions move online, protecting customers increasingly means recognizing the signals behind every digital interaction quickly, securely and with as little friction as possible.
PLDT Enterprise helps businesses do just that through SmartSafe, its suite of network-powered authentication and fraud prevention solutions that uses real-time network intelligence to help organizations strengthen digital security and customer verification. It is also the first telco-enabled digital fraud management API suite in the Philippines, globally certified by GSMA.
THE SMARTSAFE Authentication API LAUNCH
At the SmartSafe Authentication API Launch held in Parañaque City, PLDT Enterprise introduced customers, partners, and business decision makers to three new SmartSafe APIs: GeoCheck, NetIdentity, and RoamStatus. Each of these APIs is a first on the market, and further expands the capabilities of the SmartSafe Suite. The event demonstrated how network intelligence can provide companies with additional signals, through each new API, to verify customers and identify potential fraudulent activity.
“Digital security should make people feel safer without making every transaction more difficult,” said Blums Pineda, president of ePLDT and head of the Enterprise Business Group at PLDT Enterprise. “What we want to give businesses through SmartSafe is a different way to understand the context behind a digital interaction. By providing trusted network information to businesses, they can make better informed security decisions while keeping the customer experience simple.”
DRIVING THE NETWORK TO ANOTHER LAYER OF TRUST
SmartSafe builds on PLDT Enterprise and Smart’s work in network-driven authentication, where information about the mobile network can help businesses assess digital interactions without relying solely on information manually provided by a user.
Non-Identity. SmartSafe NetIdentity allows companies to control signals related to SIM and device authenticity. PLDT Enterprise’s NetIdentity capabilities include SIM Swap and Device Swap APIs, which can indicate whether the SIM associated with a mobile phone number has recently been changed or whether a SIM has been transferred to another physical device. These signals can help businesses determine when additional verification or review is appropriate for higher-risk logins and transactions.
GeoCheck. SmartSafe GeoCheck adds location-related network intelligence by allowing organizations to validate a user’s general vicinity around the transaction location.
RoamStatus. SmartSafe RoamStatus allows businesses to determine whether a cell phone is being used at home or while roaming abroad. It provides a simple roaming status response without requiring businesses to rely on user-provided location information.
Together, these capabilities can give businesses additional context when evaluating a transaction, login, or other digital activity, and help them respond when something about an interaction warrants closer verification.
“Fraud continues to evolve, so the protection of customers does not depend on a single signal or a single security step,” said Nico Alcoseba, first vice president and head of Enterprise Product Management and Innovations at PLDT Enterprise. “The value of network intelligence is that it gives businesses more context. A change of SIM, another device, an unexpected location or roaming activity can provide useful information when an organization decides whether an interaction looks normal or deserves another layer of verification.”
BUILD SECURITY AROUND THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The SmartSafe Authentication API Launch also featured PLDT Enterprise executives for discussions on digital trust, enterprise security, and how network APIs support businesses as customer journeys become increasingly digital. The program includes a product presentation and panel discussion with leaders from PLDT Enterprise’s wireless platforms, product innovation and product development teams.
SmartSafe is part of PLDT Enterprise and Smart’s broader development of standards-based network APIs. Smart previously became the first Philippine telco provider to achieve GSMA Open Gateway API certification for number verification, while subsequent certifications and developments have expanded its network API capabilities for enterprise authentication and fraud prevention.
PLDT Enterprise also introduced SmartSafe SilentAccess, which uses the smart network to authenticate users without requiring them to manually enter traditional one-time passwords for supported customer journeys. SilentAccess can be applied to experiences such as onboarding and login, higher value transactions, and account recovery.
For businesses, the direction is towards security that works more naturally in the background, but still gives organizations more powerful tools to assess risk.
“Trust is built in the small moments when customers log in, make a payment, access an account, or simply expect a digital service to work securely,” said Josh Montecillo, AVP and Head of Enterprise and International Wireless Product Management at PLDT Enterprise. “With SmartSafe, we want to help companies protect these moments in ways that are smart and seamless. Security becomes most meaningful when people can do what they do with more confidence.”
Through SmartSafe and its expanded portfolio of network APIs, PLDT Enterprise continues to help organizations strengthen digital trust while creating safer and more seamless experiences for their customers.