CHALLENGE

Keeping OTP delivery consistent and secure

Neo Pay Iraq, a pioneer in Iraq’s fintech space, is on a mission to drive financial inclusion with innovative digital payment solutions. Since its launch in October 2019, Neo Pay Iraq has made secure and accessible financial services a reality for countless users. Starting with virtual cards, it has grown its offerings to include Classic and Platinum business cards, as well as the Dinar card—making payments simpler, safer, and smarter. 

Despite making significant inroads in a market that is still heavily reliant on cash, Neo Pay Iraq faced a unique challenge: Delivering seamless and reliable authentication methods to their customers.

With many customers that are new to the concept of cashless payment solutions, ensuring secure transactions is crucial for building and maintaining their trust. 

Previously, Neo Pay Iraq used SMS from another service provider to send one-time passwords (OTPs) for account registration and transaction approval. But connectivity issues and frequent mobile network interruptions led to inconsistent OTP delivery.

Customers became frustrated when delayed OTPs prevented them from making immediate payments. This not only impacted customer trust, but also directly affected Neo Pay Iraq’s revenue. 

Enhancing security and accessibility with Infobip Authenticate

Neo Pay Iraq was drawn to Infobip’s competitive pricing and our strong reputation for reliability and compliance in fintech. The company chose our omnichannel authentication solution, Infobip Authenticate to tackle its OTP delivery challenges.

Authenticate integrates instant messaging channels like WhatsApp, with SMS as a failover, ensuring secure and seamless communication. This way they benefitted from using a chat app their customers used along with our direct mobile network operator connections for reliable SMS delivery. 

Additionally, WhatsApp is a widely used channel in Iraq, where many consumers rely on internet access instead of mobile networks due to unreliable connectivity.

By using the channel, businesses can have a verified WhatsApp account that enhances credibility, with a green verification badge on the sender’s profile helping to counter fraud attempts.

For customers without internet access, SMS serves as a backup. The OTPs are used in two key scenarios:

1. During card activation, they verify the identities of users, ensuring a secure onboarding process
2. An extra layer of security for each transaction by requiring users to confirm who they are in real time.

Key benefits of Infobip Authenticate that stood out for Neo Pay Iraq include: 

Neo Pay Iraq received dedicated support during the implementation, especially when they switched from a generic sender ID to a dedicated WhatsApp sender ID to start using a verified account. This change enhanced compliance and security, ensuring a smooth and credible customer journey. 

Up to 60% cost savings and increased trust

Infobip Authenticate enabled Neo Pay Iraq to improve their OTP delivery rates and achieved 50-60% in cost savings by using WhatsApp as their preferred OTP channel.

Customers appreciate the faster delivery of OTPs and the convenience of receiving codes via WhatsApp, further enhancing their overall experience.

Furthermore, Neo Pay Iraq’s verified WhatsApp accounts increased customer confidence by cutting down on OTP fraud attempts.

Our authentication solution showcased WhatsApp’s versatility in driving engagement, and Neo Pay Iraq is now exploring new use cases, like running marketing campaigns to encourage card renewals.

Thanks to reliable OTPs, Neo Pay Iraq strengthened its authentication process and cemented its position as a trusted partner in Iraq’s move toward financial inclusion and digital transformation.

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