As more everyday transactions move online, protecting customers increasingly means being able to recognize the signals behind each digital interaction quickly, securely, and with as little friction as possible.
PLDT Enterprise is helping businesses do just that through SmartSafe, with its suite of network-powered authentication and fraud prevention solutions that uses real-time network intelligence to help organizations strengthen digital security and customer verification. It is also the first telco-enabled digital fraud management API suite in the Philippines, globally certified by GSMA.
At the SmartSafe Authentication API Launch held in Parañaque City, PLDT Enterprise introduced customers, partners, and business decision-makers to three new additional SmartSafe APIs: GeoCheck, NetIdentity, and RoamStatus; each of these APIs are first in the market, further building out the SmartSafe suite capabilities. The event demonstrated how network intelligence can give businesses additional signals, through each new API, to help verify customers and identify potentially fraudulent activity.
“Digital security should make people feel safer without making every transaction harder,” said Blums Pineda, Chairman of ePLDT and Head of Enterprise Business Group, PLDT Enterprise. “What we want to give businesses through SmartSafe is another way to understand the context behind a digital interaction. By making trusted network information available to enterprises, they can make better-informed security decisions while keeping the customer experience simple.”
Turning the network into another layer of trust
SmartSafe builds on PLDT Enterprise and Smart’s work in network-powered authentication, where information available through the mobile network can help enterprises assess digital interactions without relying solely on information manually provided by a user.
SmartSafe NetIdentity enables enterprises to check signals related to SIM and device authenticity. PLDT Enterprise’s NetIdentity capabilities include SIM Swap and Device Swap APIs, which can indicate whether the SIM associated with a mobile number was recently changed or whether a SIM has been transferred to another physical device. These signals can help businesses determine when additional verification or review may be appropriate for higher-risk logins and transactions.
SmartSafe GeoCheck adds location-related network intelligence by enabling organizations to validate a user’s general vicinity around the transaction location, while SmartSafe RoamStatus allows businesses to determine whether a mobile phone is being used domestically or while roaming abroad. PLDT Enterprise described RoamStatus as providing a simple roaming status response without requiring businesses to rely on location information supplied by the user.
Together, these capabilities can give enterprises additional context when evaluating a transaction, login, or other digital activity—helping them respond when something about an interaction may warrant closer verification.
“Fraud continues to evolve, so protecting customers cannot depend on a single signal or a single security step,” said Nico Alcoseba, First Vice President and Head of Enterprise Product Management & Innovations, PLDT Enterprise. “The value of network intelligence is that it gives businesses more context. A change in a SIM, a different device, an unexpected location, or roaming activity can become useful information when an organization is deciding whether an interaction looks normal or deserves another layer of verification.”
Building security around the customer experience
The SmartSafe Authentication API Launch also brought together PLDT Enterprise executives for discussions on digital trust, enterprise security, and how network APIs can support businesses as customer journeys become increasingly digital. The program included a product presentation and panel discussion featuring leaders from PLDT Enterprise’s wireless platforms, product innovation, and product development teams.
SmartSafe forms part of PLDT Enterprise and Smart’s broader development of standards-based network APIs. Smart previously became the first Philippine telco provider to achieve GSMA Open Gateway API certification for Number Verification, while subsequent certifications and developments have expanded its network API capabilities for enterprise authentication and fraud prevention.
PLDT Enterprise has also introduced SmartSafe SilentAccess, which uses Smart’s network to verify users without requiring them to manually enter traditional one-time passwords for supported customer journeys. According to PLDT Enterprise, SilentAccess can be applied to experiences such as onboarding and logins, higher-value transactions, and account recovery.
For businesses, the direction is toward security that works more naturally in the background while still giving organizations stronger tools to assess risk.
“Trust is built in the small moments when customers log in, make a payment, access an account, or simply expect a digital service to work safely,” said Josh Montecillo, AVP and Head of Enterprise and International Wireless Product Management, PLDT Enterprise. “With SmartSafe, we want to help businesses protect those moments in ways that are both intelligent and seamless. Security becomes most meaningful when people can go about what they need to do with greater confidence.”
Through SmartSafe and its expanding portfolio of network APIs, PLDT Enterprise continues to help organizations strengthen digital trust while creating safer and more seamless experiences for their customers.
