Authentication To Prevent Fraud And COVID-19

Have you ever considered a non-touch life before COVID-19? An experience where you can accomplish all of your login, banking, payment, eCommerce and other activities on your mobile handset, avoiding contact with public ATM keypads and Point of Sale devices, is now possible. Boloro already envisioned this “contactless” future long before physical distancing by developing a unique technology that is compatible with all mobile phones, including smartphones and feature phones.

Specifically, Boloro has built a real-time, multi-channel (transaction on the Internet and authentication on a separate channel) and multi-factor (the phone you physically possess and the memorized PIN / Password you know) authentication for identity verification and transaction authentication. Banks now have an easy way to provide security and protect public health, and the banks can locally host, control and brand the solution. Boloro Authentication is the layered way to keep your information in a personal Fort Knox.

Karl Kilb, CEO of Boloro Global Limited, believes this multi-channel approach is the best way to fight online fraud. More cases of fraud have been emerging since we started working from home because of the increased reliance on online banking, digital payments and eCommerce.

According to Kilb, “the Internet was never built to be secure and is inherently vulnerable to fraud. Your Operating System can be compromised by malware, and SIM Swaps are also becoming more and more common. Boloro realizes that we must avoid a single point of failure and has developed a unique multi-channel approach that layers real security on top of your applications. Even if your phone is a victim of a SIM Swap, you would be protected, because the fraudster would not have access to your memorized PIN.”

A curious fact about the Internet is that it was never meant to be a secure platform for trading and e-commerce.

With Boloro, Kilb says consumers have “ATM-like authentication in the palm of their hands, on their mobile phone, allowing them to do everything safely and securely without touching an ATM keypad of Point of Sale device. While the transaction is on the Internet, Boloro has removed the authentication from the Internet by putting it onto the secure signalling channel of your phone with push USSD.” By entering your PIN on your phone, without ever touching the point of sale (POS) device or an ATM screen, you help to stop the spread of the virus.

A curious fact about the Internet is that it was never meant to be a secure platform for trading and e-commerce. “If you have to be on the Internet and use apps that touch your operating system, you should use Boloro’s separate means of authenticating off-line to make sure your transactions are safe,” Kilb says.

The GSMA has approved Boloro Authentication (Global Association of Mobile Carriers), patented in 84 countries, and is easily implemented via APIs for local hosting, control and branding. Boloro is currently working to bring this process to the region. No Internet access is required, meaning it can even be used on feature phones in rural areas.

“Because we are layering on top of your app, there is no need for a new app to download. We are compatible with any phone, working with all smartphones, and all feature phones, so we can work with any customer in the market,” Kilb said. “We can handle any use case from online banking, digital payment to e-commerce, giving a complete audit trail that creates a credit history to give your customers real financial inclusion,” he explains.

Boloro complements any security strategy at any bank because it can be layered on top of any app without changing it or the settings in any way. The bank hosts the Boloro Pin process just like the bank already hosts its ATM Pin process. Boloro Authentication provides a new lock and key that layers on top of the existing app in a way that is instantaneously secure, and is precisely what your customers are used to, which is a memorized PIN that they need to enter with every transaction to authenticate themselves.

There are multiple use cases on this link to illustrate Boloro authentication. 

Below, a demo on how Boloro works.

Everything is done remotely, and just in the same way that you have a PIN and password system, this layers into that very easily. All the data is hosted on your end, allowing you to host, control and brand the entire solution.

Below, an example of the security at work should your phone get stolen or in instances of a SIM swap.

Hint: your information remains safe. “Even if your phone has been the victim of a SIM swap, the fraudster would not know your memorized PIN or password. It is the same way in the Boloro world,” Karl reassures, so they would not be able to complete the transaction.

Safety features for your users

There are no limits for PIN trials, save for what is set by the bank, and the licensee can create rules around it. They are already working with the applicable Mobile Network Operators. Boloro came up with a one-time license fee and a maintenance fee, charging per user, making higher numbers more affordable.

Banks would also be quite willing to keep transactions touch-free, even at the ATM. Karim Rammal, Chairman and co-founder, adds: “unlike an OTP situation, where the SMS is sent, and you don’t even know if the customer has received it. In this case, a real-time USSD session will track, and be able to give you information that the customer’s phone is unreachable.”

Below: How you would log in to a government site as with Boloro that works with existing authentication.

For more information

In conclusion, with Boloro, consumers can prevent online fraud and promote public health by practising good hygiene — keeping their hands to themselves and their much-used phones safe, secure and clean.

For more in-depth insights into this conversation, listen to the webinar recording.

Please also see www.Boloro.com, and you can reach Boloro at Karl.Kilb@Boloro.com