Importance of one-time password for Bank a/c and Credit cards

Bank, Credit Cards | admin | October 31, 2011 at 8:22 am

One-time password, or OTP, is a password issued by banks on request for carrying out IVR (Interactive Voice Response) transactions. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said that from February 1, all merchants in India have to collect an OTP in addition to information written on credit cards for transactions done over phone (IVR). The logic being that there has to be some detail that is not present on the card to carry out the transaction over phone. Earlier, any financial transaction could be carried out over phone by using details on the card, such as the 16-digit card number, expiry date and the CVV number.

This clearly was not 'safe' as anybody could have misused your credit card if they had the details. Now, just like you require an extra password to authenticate an online transaction, you require an extra password to carry out financial transactions over phone. The only difference being the password generated by the bank for IVR transactions, unlike the one issued for online transactions , has one-time validity.

IVR TRANSACTIONS

These are financial transactions , such as payment of mobile bills, booking of flight tickets or movie tickets, carried out over phone. Any telephonic conversation intended to do a financial transaction over phone requires an OTP.

HOW TO GENERATE OTP

You have to SMS the bank or the credit card company from the registered mobile number asking for an OTP. Therefore, ensure your mobile number is registered with the bank. The bank will immediately generate the numeric password to carry out the IVR transaction. The password expires after the financial transaction is completed. Also, it is essential you carry out the transaction as soon as the password is generated. These passwords are usually valid for 2-24 hours depending upon the bank/credit card company

Source: Economic Times