Security feature can stop fraud: Biswas
Airtel Payments Bank plans to grow the user base for its recently-introduced Airtel Safe Pay by fourfold, said a top official.
“We launched Airtel Safe Pay during January 2021 and within one month, we got a quarter of a million users,” said Anubrata Biswas, MD and CEO of the bank.
Safe Pay is a security feature that can be availed by Airtel Payments Bank Savings Account customers with an Airtel Mobile number linked to the account. It provides an additional real-time alert to the customers at the time of an UPI or net banking transaction right before the debit of the customer’s account. The debit will only happen when the customer approves the transaction. It is the third factor authentication along with the current process of two-factor authentication.
“Our goal is to get one million users in the next one year. To achieve this, we will be rolling it out in regional languages,” he added.
“Everyone has a two-step authentication. But, here we are offering three-step authentication. The user will get the OTP as well as a message on a real-time basis in English, asking them whether they want to proceed with the payment or not. Even if you had passed on the OTP to fraudsters, this additional step would prevent them from making payment. Thus online fraud can be prevented,” he said.
Asserting that they are the first company to receive RBI’s nod to start payments bank, he said: “We expect to see significant user uptake as the product solves a genuine problem. The digital financial inclusion movement is yet to touch 200 million people in India, some of whom are kept back by the fear of digital frauds on their main bank account. Safe Pay from Airtel and Airtel Payments Bank gives them this assurance, and will result in widespread adoption.”
Mr. Biswas also said that in case the user does not want to use the new facility, one can disable it any time. “Our survey says that 99% of the users will use the additional facility and 88% were ready to refer it to other users,” he said.
According to him, every digital Airtel consumer having Aadhar or pan card, carrying smartphone with internet connection can open an account with Airtel Payments Bank and can avail this facility. Through the bank’s digital wallet, one can make online/offline digital payments, recharge phone, pay utility bills, send or add money to the wallet.
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