A New Front Against Digital Threats - Malaysia's major telcos are banding together to fight back against two growing problems: online fraud and digital identity theft. At the Digital Nation Summit (DNS) on September 23, the industry revealed plans for a federated network service that could change the way businesses verify customers.

The service will introduce a Number Verification API, designed to give banks, e-commerce platforms, and digital service providers a more secure way to confirm that a mobile number actually belongs to the person using it.

Why This Matters

For years, Malaysians have relied on SMS One-Time Passwords (OTPs) as the backbone of digital authentication. But as scams become more sophisticated, SMS OTPs are increasingly vulnerable to phishing, SIM swaps, and malware. The new federated approach promises a safer and smoother alternative by linking verification directly to telco data instead of easily intercepted text messages.

Who's Behind It

The initiative is a collective effort from all the country's major operators:

Rather than building isolated systems, the telcos are creating a cross-operator framework. Each company will still control its own data, policies, and revenue, but businesses and developers will benefit from a unified interface across all networks.

How the Number Verification API Works

The service will rely on two main mechanisms to verify mobile number ownership:

These checks happen behind the scenes and remove the need for users to type in OTP codes manually, making the process faster while strengthening security.

Beyond Just Banking Apps

While the most obvious use case is banking and fintech apps, the scope is much broader. The API can be applied to:

This could even extend to general app logins, replacing traditional username-and-password combinations entirely.

A Shift in Digital Identity Security

What makes this move especially important is that it's not just about protecting businesses from fraud—it's about restoring trust in digital services for everyday Malaysians. By giving companies the tools to authenticate users directly through mobile networks, scams that exploit the weaknesses of SMS OTPs will be much harder to pull off.

In the bigger picture, this federated service is another step toward a safer, more connected digital economy—one where users can interact online with greater confidence that their identities are protected.