As part of the global GSMA Open Gateway initiative, France's top four mobile operators—Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange, and SFR—have joined forces to launch Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs) aimed at combating online fraud and protecting digital identities. The operators are launching two network APIs, KYC Match and SIM Swap, to the French market to help online businesses combat fraud and digital identity theft.
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APIs Comply CAMARA Standard
The APIs, developed to comply with the new CAMARA standard, are designed to strengthen identity verification and detect SIM swap fraud. France is the first country in the world where all four major operators are launching the KYC Match API. This API enables businesses to verify customer identities during onboarding and transactions, the GSMA—a global organisation representing mobile operators—said on Tuesday.
Surge in Mobile Transactions
According to the official release, France has seen a 37 percent surge in online transactions since the pandemic, amounting to EUR 2.35 billion in 2023, with 77 percent of these taking place over mobile devices. As a result, mobile security has become a pressing concern. Fraud attempts have impacted 80 percent of French companies, with identity theft cases rising 40 percent over the past four years, according to the French Ministry of Interior.
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These new APIs will help protect consumers' mobile identities by adding an additional layer of defence against fraudsters, the GSMA said. A number of financial institutions, including BforBank and Fortuneo, are already using KYC Match in partnership with DQE Software. Additionally, over 20 businesses in France are integrating the APIs to prevent account takeovers and verify customer identities during transactions and onboarding.
GSMA Open Gateway initiative
Since its launch last year, the GSMA Open Gateway initiative has attracted 67 mobile network groups, representing a total of 278 networks and three-quarters of the world's mobile connections, along with 26 channel partners. Developers can take advantage of the new network capabilities by utilising APIs, which enable seamless integration of their services with mobile networks.
Two APIs
The two services, or APIs, that the French operators are making available to enterprise developers are KYC Match—allowing businesses to cross-check customer-provided information with the verified records maintained by the user’s mobile network operator as part of their KYC (Know Your Customer) process—and SIM Swap, which is used to check whether a given phone number has recently changed SIM cards.
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Future Developments
Additionally, the operators plan to introduce a third API, Number Verification, which is already offered by some operators. This API will allow businesses to verify customers' mobile numbers. The French operators aim for a commercial launch of this service in the first half of 2025.
