GSMA Open Gateway marks a pivotal step in fraud prevention

Fraud prevention hinges on the ability to share information more than ever before, and through the GSMA Open Gateway initiative the telco industry is finding a sustainable solution to providing universal access to mobile operator networks for app developers focussed on fighting fraud and improving cyber security efforts.

The telco industry has traditionally been a relatively closed and guarded ecosystem from which both big operators and regulators have controlled access. While for the most part this has guaranteed the integrity of global communication networks it has to some extent slowed innovation and the response to the growing threat of digitally enabled fraud.

Creating uniformity to enable innovation

Global communication networks are highly complex, with operator networks having their own individual set of standards and specifications, resulting in software developers traditionally having to engineer their applications to suit the particular requirements of each and every network they wish to deploy into. This makes multi-network global deployments for solution providers much more challenging and costly.

Launched at last year's Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, the GSMA Open Gateway initiative focusses on overcoming this lack of uniformity by providing a framework of standardised APIs that provide universal access to global mobile networks for software developers. This huge step represents a paradigm shift in how the telco industry delivers services and reflects the increasing demand for mobile apps and organisations to reach their target audiences through mobile channels. 

Supercharging fraud prevention

The need for banking, business and governments to better combat the increasing threat of fraud has been a catalyst for the Open Gateway initiative. Fraud levels have surged since the pandemic as a digital-first approach accelerated. Low awareness of fraud threats and a lack of cyber-security best practices from businesses and consumers resulted in an abundance of opportunities that have blossomed for cyber criminals. The isolated manner in which financial institutions and telecoms operate and guard their data meant that bad actors could take full advantage of a lack of collaboration and slow pace of response to fraud threats.

GSMA Open Gateway aims to overcome these hurdles and meet the challenge of better protecting consumers by supercharging fraud prevention for banks, fintech’s and commerce at large, helping them to improve the security and usability of their products. With universal access across global networks comes the greater sharing of data, a critical part in the future of fraud control. AI and machine learning can be deployed to identify patterns that could indicate fraudulent activities across different entities.

The innovative App economy is set for rapid growth, predicted to be worth over $570 billion dollars by 2030. App developers can look forward to much greater opportunity thanks to the GSMA Open Gateway initiative which will enable new solutions to be more easily deployed into multiple networks across new regions. In turn creating an eco-system that provides an opportunity for service providers to rapidly engineer solutions to emerging fraud threats and cyber security challenges.

The future of fraud prevention

Fraud has quickly become the domain of organised criminal gangs and affects many people along the way, from the pensioner who loses their savings to an elaborate APP scam by someone impersonating their bank, to the unfortunate soul in south-east Asia lured by a fake job advert, only to be imprisoned and forced into defrauding oversees victims by criminals. 

While a fraud free future is unlikely, Open Gateway marks a pivotal moment in the fight against fraud. JT’s Mobile Intelligence division and others are leading the way in providing innovative ways to detect and stop fraud before it happens. Solutions such as Silent Authentication+ from JT are offering a much more secure and user-friendly alternative to the age-old use of passwords and SMS One-Time-Passcodes for user authentication, both of which are highly vulnerable to attacks from cyber criminals. 

As policy makers continue to demand more from the tech industry at large to do more to protect online users from harm, Open Gateway represents a significant step and a huge opportunity to safeguard users, create more secure and transparent financial ecosystems, and provide a safer online environment for vulnerable individuals.