 "Will there be delay in OTP delivery from December 1?")
Are you waiting for a product you bought online to be delivered after November 30? If the delivery requires a one-time password (OTP), you would want to read this report.
Come December 1, reports say, the seamless flow of OTPs could be disrupted. This is because the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) traceability guidelines will come into effect from next month. However, the regulatory body has denied these reports.
Let’s take a closer look.
What is TRAI’s traceability mandate?
In August, TRAI issued guidelines for telecom operators to curb the misuse of messaging services and protect consumers from scams and phishing.
The regulatory body directed telecom service providers to enhance message traceability by tracking the origin of commercial messages and OTPs.
All telcos including Reliance Jio, Bharati Airtel, BSNL and Vodafone-Idea have to follow the guidelines and maintain a trail of messages or passwords from financial institutions, banks, and e-commerce companies.
The initial deadline for implementing these measures was October 31. However, it was extended to November 30 after telcos warned they might have to block messages from entities that do not comply with the rules, causing massive disruptions from November 1.
As per an Economic Times (ET) report, telecom service providers asked for more time to implement the rules, pointing out that most telemarketers and business entities like banks were not yet technically ready to abide by the mandate.
The telecom companies warned that messages containing OTPs and other critical communications may remain undelivered as telemarketers and principal entities (PEs) like banks did not have technical solutions at the time, the financial newspaper reported.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhy are the rules important?
With its traceability mandate, TRAI aims to keep a check on cybercrime and protect consumers from fraud .
As per a Mint report, message traceability will help authorities detect and take action against the originators of scams. Amid a lack of such rules, tracing the perpetrator becomes more challenging.
With India reporting a rise in cybercrimes, such initiatives could help protect mobile users, saving their hard-earned money from fraudsters.
What happens from December 1?
From December 1, telcos will have to block messages from senders who do not allow their origin to be traced.
TRAI said last month, “With effect from December 1, 2024, any traffic (messages) where the chain of telemarketers is not defined or does not match with a pre-defined chain shall be rejected.”
Reports say that if telcos fail to comply with the deadline to implement the traceability guidelines, there could be disruptions in OTP delivery from next month. Mobile phone users may get delayed passwords or none at all via messages.
However, TRAI has rebuffed these reports, assuring there will be no disruptions in the delivery of essential Net Banking or OTP messages.
“TRAI has mandated the Access Providers to ensure message traceability. It will not delay delivery of any message,” the regulatory body said on X on Thursday (November 28).
This is factually incorrect. TRAI has mandated the Access Providers to ensure message traceability. It will not delay delivery of any message. @the_hindu@IndianExpress @htTweets @livemint @DeccanHerald@EconomicTimes @IndiaToday @thetribunechd@firstpost @JagranNews pic.twitter.com/NRIf0S0bYN
— TRAI (@TRAI) November 28, 2024
Earlier, e-commerce platforms had denied concerns of telcos about disruptions in delivering messages, including OTPs and other critical information.
“We don’t see it as a challenge. There are already other platforms, such as WhatsApp, through which one can send OTPs to customers,” an executive at an e-commerce firm told Business Standard in October. “We also believe the majority of customers who are using the e-commerce service already have access to smartphones.”
With inputs from agencies
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