Launched in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK in a major step towards more seamless and secure SIM-based authentication.
Vodafone has announced the launch of Number Verify 2.0 in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, the first markets in a planned global rollout of the company’s next-generation phone number authentication API.
Number Verify 2.0 gives businesses a simpler, more secure and seamless way to verify a user’s mobile phone number without SMS one-time passcodes (OTP). It uses the mobile network to verify that a user’s phone number is associated with their SIM and device across both app and web journeys, whether the user is on mobile data or Wi-Fi.
The experience is seamless. The user gives their consent, and their phone number is then shared instantly with the service provider, such as a bank or retailer.
Number Verify 2.0 addresses a fundamental gap in digital identity today: reliance on mobile numbers without a sufficiently secure way to verify them.
The mobile number remains one of the most widely used identifiers for registration, login, account recovery and transaction confirmation, yet the industry’s default verification method has not kept pace with modern fraud threats or user expectations.
SMS OTP only confirms that someone entered a code sent to a mobile number. It does not prove that the real subscriber is present or that the authentication journey has not been compromised. That leaves businesses and consumers exposed to phishing, social engineering, and artificially inflated traffic (AIT), where automated bots trigger large volumes of OTP requests, increasing cost and complexity.
Addressing today’s threat landscape
Johanna Wood, Director of Network APIs at Vodafone, said: “SMS OTP has been the default for over a decade, but it was never built for the threat environment we operate in today. Number Verify 2.0 changes that by giving developers a way to verify phone numbers that is faster, safer and seamless for the user.
“Launching Number Verify 2.0 simultaneously in three countries marks the start of our global rollout for enterprise customers.”
Number Verify 2.0 offers enterprises, such as banks, retailers and social media platforms, multiple benefits, including:
- Higher conversion rates: removing manual mobile number entry, SMS wait times and code typing from onboarding, login and account recovery flows.
- More secure by design: eliminating human-readable OTPs that can be phished, intercepted or socially engineered.
- Keeps costs down: reducing unnecessary SMS spending, failed OTP attempts and exposure to artificial traffic.
Number Verify 2.0 is now available, rolling out first on Android devices.
Built on the CAMARA international standard, Number Verify 2.0 ensures interoperability across operators and markets. Developers can integrate once and deploy globally as operator support expands.
Developers can find out more about Number Verify 2.0 via the link below.
https://developer.vodafone.com/api-catalogue/identity/number-verification-2-0-camara-overview
