The Mobile Ecosystem Forum has released a short report on the adoption of SMS OTP (One Time Password) by enterprises. And contrary to the ongoing criticism of the security issues of SMS, it seems most businesses are using it for verification.

The report is filled with interesting insights. It shows the market is balancing the theoretical criticisms of SMS OTP with its benefits.

Let’s summarize everything and take a look at some of the key points the report delivered.

Who was surveyed

A total of 450 senior individuals from enterprises of varying sizes in nine geographical markets were surveyed.

These enterprises represent key sectors that have a high interest in identification and verification, such as fintech, financial services, payments, and healthcare.

It’s an important sample, considering such industries rely strongly on both security and user interface.

Key points

1. Globally, almost 2/3 of enterprises use the mobile phone to verify, identify and authenticate their customers
2. Only 7% of enterprises worldwide DO NOT USE SMS OTP for some form of verification
3. Contrary to some beliefs, all methods of identification, authentication, and verification are equally deemed important, regardless of the level of usage
4. Most sectors point to the issue of security and user experience as concerns with SMS OTP
5. Indonesia, South Africa, Spain, and India represent the biggest growth opportunity for the use of SMS OTP
6. Over 90% of enterprises surveyed in the payments and e-commerce sector use only mobile phone numbers to identify, verify and authenticate their customers
7. 100% of the enterprises in The United Kingdom surveyed use mobile-only to identify, verify and authenticate their customers

Common use cases

Globally, organizations commonly use mobile numbers to identify, verify and authenticate their customers in the scenarios below within their customer’s user journey.

These are the particular use cases most used by the enterprises surveyed for this report:

– New customer registration and onboarding (98%)
– Changing customer details (96%)
– Verifying high-value transactions (85%)
– Ensuring security after a period without login (75%)
– Viewing account balances (74%)
– Accessing an account from an unknown device (69%)

What’s next?

It seems the market is clearly responding, and SMS OTP still is an important feature to combine both security and usability at the enterprise level.

Even though there are theoretical security concerns, in practice SMS OTP is a strong, reliable solution that is satisfying both businesses and users alike.

What do you think about the findings of this report? Is the market responding correctly, or do you think it’s lagging behind? Let us know.