PLDT, Smart boost online security through Vesta

PLDT, Inc. and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. said their adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled fraud detection and approval enhancement capabilities has made transactions on their online platforms more secure.

“The combination of PLDT’s customer-centric digital solutions, PayMaya’s industry-leading payment acceptance solutions, and Vesta’s AI-enabled fraud detection and approval enhancement capabilities allow us to deliver superior customer-centric services and provide our customers with the best payment experience possible,” PLDT and Smart Vice-President for Customer Experience Dianne M. Blanco said in a statement e-mailed to reporters on Tuesday.

PayMaya Philippines, Inc. powers the payment acceptance for PLDT and Smart’s digital channels.

“We will continue to push the frontier of financial technology as we rapidly shift to a landscape where more Filipinos are digitally-empowered,” Ms. Blanco added.

PLDT and Smart said the solutions from Vesta, a US-based fraud prevention services provider, help enhance the protection of transactions made by their customers across their digital channels.

For its part, Vesta said its real-time decisioning platform provides the analytics and authentication technology necessary to increase approvals of legitimate transactions while rejecting fraudulent ones.

“Our mission is simple: help companies scale their digital payment touchpoints with greater confidence by leveraging our end-to-end transaction guarantee platform for domestic and international transactions,” said Shabab Muhaddes, Vesta general manager in the Asia-Pacific.

In March, Philippine business groups warned that the impact of cybercrime could hit $6 trillion this year and up to $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, as the use of online platforms for financial transactions continues to rise.

The shift to online platforms “gave rise to heightened activity by cybercriminals,” the business groups, including the Bankers Association of the Philippines, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and the Chamber of Thrift Banks, said in a joint statement.

Citing data from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, the groups said there were 869 online scams recorded from March to September last year, 37% higher than the 633 incidents recorded in the same period in 2019.

“Phishing, smishing, vishing and other online fraud schemes target bank clients, credit card holders, e-wallet accounts, online shopping and other users of online financial services,” they said.

In October, the Securities and Exchange Commission signed an agreement with the Department of Information and Communications Technology for cybercrime prevention initiatives.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in ����ý through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin