A Libyan model for securing phone payments from the outset
LIBYA – A report by British magazine Telemedia has examined how Libya set up a direct carrier billing service, which lets users pay through their mobile phone bill, with fraud protection and regulatory compliance built in from launch rather than added at later stages.
Shopping without bank cards
The report, highlights of which were followed and summarised by Al-Marsad, explained that carrier billing allows users to buy apps, games and digital services instantly, with the cost deducted from their prepaid balance or added to their monthly bill, while keeping the user experience simple and fast.
A partnership between Ebtekar and Evina
It said the system rests on a partnership between Libyan information systems company Ebtekar and French firm Evina, which specialises in cybersecurity and digital fraud prevention, to build AI-based tools for detecting suspicious behaviour into the core infrastructure of the Libyan market.
According to the report, the two companies focused on making fraud prevention, compliance and consumer protection core components of the service, an approach intended to deter attackers before the market becomes an attractive target, rather than simply detecting attacks after they happen.
99.94% of fraud attempts blocked before reaching users
Citing Evina data, the report said more than 99.94% of fraud attempts are blocked on the payment page before they can affect users. It added that, according to the company’s comparison, the Libyan market records about one-fifth of the illegitimate traffic and fraud attempts seen in other major markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
Ebtekar chosen as master aggregator in 2023
The report said Ebtekar was selected in 2023 as the master aggregator for mobile operator services in Libya, making it an intermediary in an ecosystem that links telecom companies, merchants, content providers and consumers. The company decided to make compliance, fraud prevention and subscriber protection part of its structure from day one.
It noted that Ebtekar’s challenge is to prevent fraud without adding complications that make phone payments less attractive. To that end, the steps leading up to a purchase are monitored to confirm the user’s genuine intent, to ensure payment flows comply with regulations and to keep misleading practices out of advertisements and subscription mechanisms.
The report said the monitoring tools target transactions generated by bots and malware, as well as exploitation and hacking techniques, including attempts to intercept or bypass verification by one-time password.
Muaad El Ghdamsi: advanced technology and proactive monitoring
The report quoted Ebtekar chairman Muaad El Ghdamsi as saying that, when choosing an anti-fraud solution, the company placed particular value on Evina’s ability to combine advanced technology, practical expertise and proactive monitoring, rather than dealing with problems after they arise.
The report said that simply responding to an attack once it appears can push fraudsters to look for another loophole, creating a recurring cycle of problems. Ebtekar’s strategy, by contrast, aims to detect suspicious patterns early and create an environment that is harder and costlier for attackers.
Multiple layers of protection across the payment journey
It added that Evina’s solutions monitor the different stages of the payment process, including visits to purchase pages, detecting fraudulent traffic generated by bots and technical exploits, and checking that partners’ payment flows comply with the applicable rules.
Monitoring also covers customer acquisition, identifying non-compliant websites and advertising material and checking the governance of marketing campaigns, to prevent misleading practices or unwanted subscriptions before any payment is made.
The report said the case study presented by the two companies showed that 100% of monitored payment flows complied with the applicable regulatory requirements, according to the results they announced.
It added that each transaction is analysed in less than 100 milliseconds, which, according to the report, means the extra security layer does not significantly slow the process, speed being one of the advantages of carrier billing.
Trust among partners and fewer complaints
The report said security also strengthens the confidence of operators, merchants, aggregators and consumers, as continuous monitoring gives telecom companies a clearer view of merchants’ activities and provides merchants with evidence-based feedback on advertising campaigns that may cause problems.
It said detecting violations early allows marketing and operations teams to deal with them before they turn into complaints, refund requests or intervention by network operators, creating additional operational value linked to accountability and service quality.
El Ghdamsi said Ebtekar sees Evina as a trusted operational partner rather than merely a technical supplier for fraud monitoring, pointing to the role of continuous oversight and detailed feedback in improving the company’s internal procedures, campaign governance and scrutiny of the quality of services and advertisements.
David Lotfi: investing in security from the market’s inception
Evina chief executive David Lotfi said the results show the importance of building cybersecurity into the design of a market while it is still growing, rather than adding it later. He praised Ebtekar for choosing this approach from the start, saying it had, in his assessment, strengthened Libya’s reputation in the sector and made it one of the safest mobile payment markets in the Middle East and Africa.
