Myriad Connect to Tackle SIM Swap & Digital Financial Transaction Fraud in Kenya

Following recent research that revealed over 70 percent of Kenyans have been the victims of financial fraud, or know someone who has, Myriad Connect is bringing it’s out of band authentication and SIM swap detection solutions to the local market.

“Financial service transaction fraud in Kenya is costing banks billions and customers their life savings,” says Fabien Delanaud, GM of Myriad Connect. “While financial service transaction fraud is a global issue; Kenya has been a leader in the adoption of mobile and digital payments, which unfortunately brings with it a growing risk of fraud.”

One of the most prolific forms of financial service fraud is SIM swap fraud, which over 90% of Kenyan banking leaders identify as an issue for their organizations. When a customer lets their operator know that their SIM card is damaged, lost or stolen, the current SIM is deactivated and a new one is issued. With SIM swap fraud criminal groups gather personal data and then pose as contract owners to secure a new SIM. Once activated by the fraudster, they are able to access bank accounts and other sensitive data authenticated through the SIM.

 “Myriad Connect is launching into the Kenyan market to help address digital financial transaction fraud with out of band authentication and SIM Swap detection services that secure digital and mobile transactions and protect consumers and financial services providers alike. As the Kenyan market is a leader in Africa in terms of financial technologies, this market is an ideal launchpad for our innovative solutions into the region,” says Delanaud.

Combating digital transaction fraud demands an omnichannel fraud prevention strategy, says Delanaud, it provides ubiquitous authentication to any mobile device, regardless of data connectivity.

Myriad Connect’s market-leading authentication service delivers a separate, third-party authentication channel on any mobile device. Using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) provides an entirely out of band channel for authentication, with all interactions transmitted over the mobile network, which is separate to the browser or online channel being used by the customer to initiate the transaction. Myriad Connect’s session-based service sends an advanced push notification to open up a conversation between the enterprise and its customer.

In addition, Myriad’s SIM Swap detection service provides a real-time check on the SIM, while no persistent data is held with any third party, providing a more secure service than current two-factor authentication services. A clear audit trail is also established, where the user’s identity is verified by a party external to the transaction. This results in a technology that greatly enhances the security of transactions vulnerable to SIM swap fraud.

“In the UK, fraud prevention technologies have helped stop 67 percent of fraud attempts, and with our out of band authentication and SIM swap detection service, we hope to replicate this level of success in Kenya,” says Delanaud.