MTN Nigeria partners with Gemalto on new security feature

Africa's largest mobile communications company, MTN Nigeria, has chosen global digital security corporation Gemalto's LinqUs Mobile ID platform to provide its customers with SIM-based services.

This partnership marks the first-ever commercial offering of SIM-based services, dubbed "MTN Token," for MTN customers.

MTN Nigeria serves 70 million subscribers. With MTN Token, customers will enjoy more secure web access through their mobile devices, making payments and other financial transactions even safer than before. Subscribers can safely use their devices for e-commerce, banking and other tasks.

MTN Token is now available to any mobile service provider in Nigeria.

"With the launch of MTN Token, we are the first private provider of secure online identity and positioned as a warrant of digital ID and authentication in Nigeria,” A'isha Umar Mumuni, general manager of Products and Innovation for MTN Nigeria, said. “As our network of service providers adopting MTN Token grows, the solution will deliver significant reductions in fraud whilst easing the frustration often experienced by consumers on their digital journeys.”

Eric Claudel, president for Middle East and Africa at Gemalto, agreed.

“The long-established partnership between MTN Nigeria and Gemalto is the perfect foundation for this ground-breaking project,” Claudel said. “Bridging the gap between security and convenience, Mobile Connect represents the future of user authentication. It also fully supports operators in monetizing new value added services."