What is an OTP validation process by SMS?

OTP -One Time Password- codes sent by SMS are used regularly to validate a mobile number associated with a specific person. Thanks to the records made by different telephone operators, it is possible to identify a person who has a specific number at a certain moment.

Additionally, it is also useful to validate a contact method with a customer or user. Once a mobile number has been verified and associated with a user, it is possible to contact him / her easily and it may also work as a safeguarded method against infractions or illegal actions. From a mobile phone number, it is possible to find and identify a particular person in an administrative or judicial process.

Why sending an OTP code via SMS?

OTP codes work ideally on SMS messages. Today, everyone has at least one mobile phone. Text messages are compatible with any mobile device, regardless of the type of hardware, location in the world or operating system. Moreover, the installation of software is not necessary.

An SMS message has other advantages, such as mass sending, fast delivery, a 98% reading rate, and low cost. Finally, the easy integration with an API through platforms such as LabsMobile makes text messages a safe, cheap, and easy to adopt channel.

Alternative methods to SMS

There are other alternatives to SMS text messages, but they all have some kind of drawback.

For example, robocalls are expensive and require the user to be available. The integration of an IP voice platform is usually more complex and presents many variables. There is also a privacy issue, as many users do not want to expose their voice and have it recorded. Other aspects such as language, accent, tone, volume, or message to be transmitted are key and it is not easy to carry out an effective communication of OTP codes through calls to mobile phones.

The digital certificates installed in the browser face problems and technical barriers. A large number of users do not know how they are created, maintained, or how to install them. In addition to this, they have to be renewed from time to time. The participation of a third party is necessary, that only acts at the local or regional level. In general, it represents an administrative setback and they are only valid for certain procedures or actions.

There are other methods, such as OTP code applications (for example Google Authenticator), facial recognition, or app notifications. They are used to validate a user, but there are three main problems:

1. They do not validate a user’s mobile phone.
2. The person’s true identity is not obtained.
3. They are not supported globally or universally.
4. It is necessary to install a software or app and learn how to use it.

Instead, they can be useful as a supplement, once the phone has already been validated.

Main uses or applications

An OTP validation process through codes can be used for different purposes:

• Validate users’ mobile phones: it is used to verify a means of contact with the user. It allows for updating a database.
• Identify a user with a mobile number that can be associated with a physical person. This validation is basic in applications or accounts that can be used fraudulently or illegally.
• Associate a user with a single account. This usually happens during the installation of an application or account creation. The existence of users with multiple accounts, false or fraudulent, is avoided. The rescue of obsolete accounts or old profile data is another possible function.
• Authenticate actions and logins: the identification of the person carrying out digital access or action can be ensured. For example login to applications, intranets or software, commercial transactions, buying or selling of products, and digital signatures. In these cases, it is possible to use other complementary methods, either by sending an email or a coordinates card, among others.

The advantages of LabsMobile

LabsMobile platform is ideal for implementing OTP validation via SMS. It has all the necessary tools that facilitate the entire process as an SMS API in JSON format. It offers direct and high-quality routes throughout the world. This guarantees maximum reliability in delivery and less delivery time, key for this type of OTP validation via SMS.

It also has a specific API for OTP processes (LabsMobile’s OTP API), which is in charge of the creation, sending, forwarding, and also the validation of the codes. It provides additional security as codes are exclusively stored in an encrypted database on LabsMobile servers.

What is an OTP validation process by SMS?

Finally, LabsMobile has a technical support service throughout the entire process, not only in the integration but also throughout the management and OTP validation processes. If you have any problem, you just have to ask our technicians for help.