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What is a one time password? | OTP - Authkey.io

Category OTP Posted On 2022-06-22 17:47:00

What is a One Time Password?

As we all know one time password is mostly used by short term OTP.

What is One Time Password-OTP?

The one time password is a 2FA two factor authentication technique to verify the user. A one time password is the string of characters or number or alphanumeric that is sent on the registered mobile number or email. It is a time based code generated for a single use. The one time password aka OTP adds two factor authentication to suppress the risk of phishing attacks and fraudulent activity. 

What is the use of One Time Password?

The two factor authentication using the OTP adds the secondary layer of verification after a fixed username and password. The OTP layer safeguards from the fake login attempts, fraudulent pursuits, hackers, etc. it protects your organization against unauthorized access to data. 


The one time password reduces the risk of unwanted online account breachings because the user does not only have a static password but also has a time based unique OTP to complete the task. The source of receiving the OTP can be the user's mobile phone or email. In general the otp sent on mobile phones are numeric. 

Note: In general, Email based accounts send the verification link for the authentication. 


Read more: What is one time password and sending ways?


Examples of One Time Password

SMS OTP

Two factor authentication is highly performed using SMS OTP. For example, user login, transaction, forget password, COD verification, etc. once the user fills in the static details, the one time password is sent on the registered mobile number. Then users fill the OTP code in the required field to accomplish the authentication process.

 

Voice OTP

The voice call one time password is a good alternative to SMS OTP because it also reaches directly to the registered mobile number. The voice call otps are generated using the text to speech converter, which changes the OTP number into human-like speech. The voice OTP is received through a phone call and it gets disconnected after the password is spoken. You can associate the voice channel as a standby fallback to solve the problem when SMS otp is not delivered. 


Push Notification

You must have used the push notification while using the gmail logins from different IP addresses. It is similar to SMS OTP but it matches the code using 

Application installed in device. In the authentication environment, a push notification matching request is sent to the application in the user's phone. Then the user has to match that code to the login pop to verify the identity. 

Note: 

Dedicated push notification application is required to install on the user's phone. 

The Internet environment is required in mobile phones.

 

Read more: Secure your Business Transactions: OTP Service


How does business use one time password?

One time password adds the secure layer and protects business from unauthorized data fetch. The OTP can be used in different ways, it depends upon the business instance. There are different ways in which businesses are using One time password below:

Banking and finance: The banking sector protects their user accounts, transactions, etc using the OTP.

Government websites: the govt websites process the requests with registered mobile numbers. It verifies the identity using number verification through OTP. eg https://uidai.gov.in/, mparivahan.

Forget password: The browser saves the password facility or login after a long time let us forget text password. The username or registered mobile number and OTP is required for new password generation. 

Login with mobile number: The business uses the login/signup with OTP. This reduces the time of the user in form filling. It is safe and more secure than a static password. It provides the dynamic login credential.


Conclusion 

The two factor authentication using the SMS OTP is the best approach for a secure environment. The one time password is a time based unique code sent on a registered mobile number. It offers various approaches to secure your business application activity.

Authkey.io is the best omnichannel API platform completely dedicated to sending OTP. It offers you the API enabled with the fallback feature. It is the best designed SMS OTP platform available to deliver OTP or transactional alerts. 


To learn more about the two factor authentication, OTP service provider and startup API plans, Please sign up and get free trial credit.


Written By

Pankaj Singh

SEO & Marketing Enthusiast

Tags: OTP Services