Airtel Malawi removed the One Time Password (OTP) from its My Airtel App and implemented new security measures to combat mobile money fraud in the country.

This was revealed this week by Airtel managing director Charles Kamoto, who appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Media, Information, and Communications Technology to discuss concerns about mobile money fraud in Malawi.

"We have now eliminated the OTP and added an SMS verification function that will send a free auto-generated message to the user's mobile number to authenticate ownership before entering into the app, providing an additional degree of protection. We've also incorporated biometric facial or fingerprint recognition, which will be prompted for users with phones that support it," Kamoto said.

According to Kamoto, these features address the escalating fraud incidences caused by users releasing OTP to criminals, offering a more secure manner in which potential victims are not targeted for the OTP.

"This technology ensures that only authorised users have effective access to the software, prohibiting unauthorised attempts and fraudulent access," he noted.