Digital fraud remains one of the leading challenges for companies delivering online services. According to a global survey by Sumsub, 40% of companies and 52% of end users reported being victims of fraud in 2025. While the overall identity fraud rate declined from 2.6% in 2024 to 2.2% in 2025, it remains above 2023 levels. At the same time, the report highlights an 180% year-over-year increase in increasingly sophisticated identity fraud schemes.

This growing complexity is driving demand for more robust authentication mechanisms that comply with stricter regulations without compromising the user experience. In this context, KYC (Know Your Customer) APIs based on mobile network data are gaining traction. These solutions cross-reference phone numbers, telecom network information, and personal user data, enabling more reliable verification and a significant reduction in identity impersonation fraud.

According to Juniper Research, adoption of these APIs is expected to accelerate starting in 2026 across digital services, both in financial institutions and other online platforms. Companies are looking for stronger verification mechanisms, and KYC APIs are increasingly positioned not just as a technical component, but as a strategic lever within broader digital business models, also driving operational improvements.

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The French case

“France currently has a much more mature and homogeneous technical ecosystem around these solutions, as all mobile operators adopted the same protocols, enabling mass adoption,”explains Pierre-Elie Zipilivan, Vice President and Regional Manager for Europe at Plusmo. He adds: “France was one of the first countries where major operators came together to launch a joint digital identity initiative. At the end of 2020, they rolled out what became known as Mobile ID—a clearly pioneering approach”.

In this context, Zipilivan points to Younited Credit, an online microcredit company operating across several European countries: “The company was facing phone-based identity impersonation fraud and decided to implement a KYC API based on mobile network data. As a result, it achieved a significant reduction in fraud”, notes the French executive.

According to Zipilivan, implementations of this kind can substantially reduce reimbursements to fraud victims—by up to 25% in some cases—while also delivering additional benefits such as stronger corporate reputation, operational efficiencies, and smoother customer experience.

Technology is ready to scale

These results help explain why Juniper Research identifies 2026 as a pivotal year for mass adoption of these solutions: the technology is mature, standards are in place, and use cases are beginning to demonstrate clear returns.

“In Latin America, the microcredit market is already highly mature, and neobanks represent an ideal segment to successfully deploy these solutions. The main challenge lies in getting operators to reach consensus on opening new APIs that enable innovative offerings for the sector”, Zipilivan concludes.