Protecting the Mobile Wallet: Why Number Portability is Critical to Safeguarding Mobile Banking

The Global Mobile Money Market is booming. Originally valued at USD $3.4 billion in 2019, it is expected to grow to USD $25.76 billion by 2027, as more consumers than ever before are turning to their mobile devices to conduct banking transactions via SMS and RCS.

And while the opportunity for the burgeoning mobile money market is great, it does not come without challenge.
 
One of the biggest is around the mobile wallet itself. Since users’ mobile wallets are associated with their mobile number and service provider, what happens when they switch service providers? How can consumers keep their number and protect their mobile wallet and money? 

And, with more than 252 million phone subscribers changing their service provider every year, how can 
financial institutions know for sure that the person they’re interacting with is actually their customer? 

And how can they spot a potential impostor before fraud takes place?

During this session, attendees will learn how number portability data can be used in a new way to help keep mobile money safe for customers and banks, and how global service providers can foster growth in this growing market space.

The session will also provide insights on how to:

• Avoid sending sensitive information to non-customers or incorrect customers via text or voice by knowing when a telephone number may have changed hands.
• Protect against account takeover fraud (i.e., when a bad actor intentionally misrepresents their identity via number porting or SIM swap fraud). 
• Improve accuracy of third-party fraud and multi-factor authentication tools with near-real-time subscriber and carrier network data.