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Safaricom, the biggest telco in the country has signed six banks to its SIM-Swap-Check anti-fraud solution.

This collaboration will see the banks get an Application Programming Interface (API) through which they can query when a customer’s SIM card was last swapped, provided by the solution.

Information gathered helps the banks to decide on the possibility of a fraudulent transaction and the necessary actions taken.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Safaricom, Peter Ndegwa said cyber threats on the fintech sector and its clients have increased.

According to GIZ Report, 2022 alias Cybersecurity in Kenyan Fintech, threats, trends and solutions, “Loss of Funds due to Cyber-Attacks: Studies assessing the cybersecurity environment of 148 banks in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) noted that 85 percent of the banks had experienced cyberattacks and had, on average, incurred losses of $770,000 with a single malware-infected computer costing $9,707.”

“It is, therefore, necessary for different players to partner around innovations that protect customers and their funds to safeguard the gains made. At Safaricom, we have developed SIM-Swap-Check and ATM Vicinity Check solutions that we have made available to banks to empower them to reduce fraudulent transactions,” said Mr Ndegwa.

Through the solution, the banks with benefit from a free monthly quota of checks and a premium tier above for additional checks above the free quota.

According to the telco, analysis of fraud reports to tackle the social engineering of customers to conduct fraudulent SIM swaps led to the development of the solution.

Safaricom also offers banks an ATM Vicinity Check solution, which ensures that an ATM withdrawal can be made only if the transacting customer is in the same location as the ATM.

The ATM Vicinity Check solution is free.