Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar release Open Gateway APIs to fight fraud

Details: John Tanner; Category: Enterprise Ecosystems; 01 December 2025; 12873 views

Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar announced the commercial release of network APIs standardised under the GSMA Open Gateway initiative that enable identity verification tools to combat digital fraud in Qatar.

During the GSMA’s MWC Doha event last week, Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar jointly launched CAMARA-standardised Number Verification and SIM Swap APIs for developers.

The Number Verification API enables enterprises to check if the mobile number of a device accessing an online service or app matches the one provided by the customer.

Meanwhile, the SIM Swap API monitors and detects changes in the SIM card associated with a mobile number, so that developers can see if a SIM card has been swapped recently, either by returning a timestamp of the last change or a yes/no response for a defined period (for example, within the last 24 hours).

“These new CAMARA APIs allow industries across Qatar – from banking to e-commerce – to build safer, frictionless digital experiences,” said Ooredoo Qatar chief business officer Thani Al Malki.

“Through these APIs, we are enabling developers and enterprises to access secure, reliable identity-verification tools and telecom capabilities that help protect customers and create new services and opportunities,” added Vodafone Qatar COO Baran Yurdagul.

As with other markets whose digital economies are accelerating, Qatar is seeing an increase in online fraud. For the last year, Qatar’s central bank has been running a national campaign to tackle financial phishing attempts, while the Qatar Financial Information Unit has a specialised wing tasked with combating digital fraud.

“By giving developers easier, secure access to the rich network functionality of mobile networks, we can also use network intelligence in the fight against fraud and scams,” said GSMA’s head of networks Henry Calvert in a statement. “A key part of this is ensuring new APIs are interoperable so banks and online retailers can interact with mobile operators in a standardised way, wherever they are in the world. We’ve already seen the results other country mobile operators and banks have achieved through SIM Swap and Number Verification and look forward to building on these foundations in Qatar.”

Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar said they intend to expand their API portfolio in 2026 with additional services focused on identity and fraud prevention.

Last month, Ooredoo signed a deal with Ericsson-led API joint venture Aduna to make its open network APIs available to businesses across the MENA region and around the world via the Aduna platform.