Vodafone Partnered With Digital Virgo on Network APIs
The collaboration integrates network-based authentication to reduce fraud across five international markets.
Updated on Oct. 2, 2026 in Telecommunications
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Vodafone and Digital Virgo have partnered to integrate network APIs into mobile billing and payment systems across Germany, Greece, Spain, South Africa, and the UK. This initiative aims to streamline digital transactions and enhance security by replacing SMS-based authentication methods.
Why it matters
By adopting standardized interfaces for carrier data, the partnership seeks to reduce transaction friction and mitigate fraud risks for digital merchants. This move reflects a broader industry shift toward leveraging telco infrastructure for more secure identity verification.
The integration utilizes CAMARA-based standards, an open-source project for network APIs, to facilitate secure service delivery. The collaboration replaces traditional SMS One-Time Password authentication with Number Verify, a network-based identity verification process.
The players
Vodafone
A global telecommunications company providing mobile, broadband, and cloud services to consumer and enterprise markets.
Digital Virgo
A provider of mobile payment, billing, and monetization solutions operating across 60 countries.
The details
Digital Virgo is integrating Vodafone network APIs—interfaces that allow software to interact directly with mobile network capabilities—into its existing monetization solutions. By shifting from SMS-based One-Time Passwords (OTP) to Number Verify, the system authenticates users through direct signals between the device and the carrier network. This change aims to minimize exposure to fraud threats while reducing friction for the 300 merchants and 150 operators currently served by Digital Virgo.
Timeline
October 2, 2026: Vodafone and Digital Virgo announced the partnership.
The Tech Race
This partnership aligns with the ongoing industry move toward the CAMARA open-source project, which aims to standardize network-based interfaces for global telcos. By adopting these protocols, the companies are positioning themselves to compete with proprietary identity and payment verification platforms.
Users in the five initial markets can expect a shift toward seamless identity verification during digital payments, replacing the need for SMS-based codes. The rollout timeline for further countries remains unannounced, though the companies intend to expand the partnership's reach.
The takeaway
The transition from SMS-based verification to network-native APIs marks a significant effort to harden digital transaction security. Interested parties should watch for future announcements regarding the expansion of this API integration into additional operational markets.
Further reading
For more on industry infrastructure, see Telecommunications.
Source note: This article includes information reported by TelecomDrive.
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