Leading mobile telecommunications service provider in Malawi Airtel Malawi, has unveiled new modalities in safeguarding My Airtel an application that enables its subscribers to conduct almost all transaction swiftly.
Airtel Malawi has in its place removed the One Time Password (OTP) on their flagship application and introduced two innovative security measures that have been integrated into the app.
The company has introduced an SMS verification feature which will send a free auto-generated message to the user’s mobile number to authenticate ownership before logging into the application and have also introduced biometric facial or fingerprint recognition which will be prompted for customers with phones of this capability.
Revealing the news to the Parliamentary Committee on Media, Information and Communications Technology, Managing Director Charles Kamoto said Airtel Malawi is proud to be the first network to introduce these security enhancements in the country when he was addressing concerns regarding fraud.
“We have now removed the One Time Password (OTP) and introduced an SMS verification feature which will send a free auto-generated message to the user’s mobile number to authenticate ownership before logging into the app, thereby adding an extra layer of security. We have also introduced biometric facial or fingerprint recognition which will be prompted for customers with phones of this capability. We are proud to be the first network to introduce these security enhancements in Malawi. This technology ensures that only authorized users can access the app, effectively preventing unauthorized attempts and access from fraudsters,” said Kamoto.
The enhanced security on the mobile app coincides with the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority’s (MACRA’s) recent announcement of phasing out of physical scratch cards in favor of digital recharges in the market
‘My Airtel App’ is available both Google Play Store and Apple/iOS App store.
