BT and EE, CK Hutchison Group Telecom, Virgin Media O2, and Vodafone Group have launched new network technologies in the UK that will help online platforms verify customer ages and combat digital fraud.
Delivered through the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, CAMARA-standardised Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs) will give developers simple, secure tools to protect consumers and comply with new UK safety laws.
The launch comes just weeks after the Online Safety Act came into force in the UK, mandating age checks for platforms hosting user-generated content.
According to the Age Verification Providers Association, UK consumers are now undergoing five million additional age checks every day under the new law – highlighting the pressing need for scalable, frictionless verification.
Speaking at API Days London, BT and EE, Virgin Media O2, and Vodafone Group outlined the release of CAMARA-standardised Age Verify and Know Your Customer (KYC) Tenure APIs for developers, with an enhanced KYC Match API, featuring fuzzy logic capabilities, to follow before the end of the year.
The collaboration addresses two pressing challenges in the UK digital landscape: the need for robust age verification following new legal safeguarding laws and the escalating threat of online fraud.
People in the UK lost £11.4 billion to scams last year, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s (GASA) latest The State of Scams in the UK report.
Worldwide, GASA estimates that criminals scammed more than $1 trillion from victims last year, further emphasising the need for the mobile industry to work together with online banks and retailers through global standardised technology initiatives to tackle the issue.
Technology Partners Ready to Commercialise for Developers
Technology companies are now partnering with UK operators to commercialise these APIs, connecting them with online entertainment and commerce sites to help implement age verification and identity protection capabilities.
On top of other CAMARA APIs already available in the market, the operators are now providing developers three further APIs to support consumer protection and fraud prevention:
KYC Age Verification API (Available Now)
Checks whether a customer is eligible for age-restricted products and services. Since operators already manage verified user data, such as date of birth linked to mobile numbers, they can provide a seamless and privacy-compliant solution for digital platforms.
The API can be applied in various scenarios, including streaming services, gaming platforms, online marketplaces, and adult content websites, ensuring compliance with regulations while reducing friction in the user experience.
KYC Tenure API (Available Now)
Helps build trust by providing a simple and efficient method to determine whether a phone number has been in use for a significant period, offering a strong indicator of user stability and reducing reliance on self-reported identity data.
The API checks whether the lifetime tenure of a given phone number is longer than an input date provided by the customer.
KYC Match API (available by end of-2025)
The API allows businesses to cross-check customer-provided information with the verified records maintained by the user’s mobile network operator, as part of their KYC (Know Your Customer) process.
This cross-check comparison can include details such as mobile phone number, name, postal code, address, birthdate, and email address.
Importantly, no Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is shared in the process, ensuring user privacy while enabling secure and accurate verification.
Henry Calvert, Head of Networks, GSMA, said:
“Age assurance is just one area where the smart use of mobile networks can support online entertainment and commerce sites, and safeguard consumers. 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.
We’ve already seen the results UK mobile operators and banks have achieved through Scam Signal and look forward to building on these foundations.”
Commitment to Continued Innovation
Looking ahead to 2026, UK operators plan to expand their API portfolio with additional services focused on identity and fraud prevention, as well as advanced network quality capabilities leveraging 5G infrastructure for enhanced availability, latency, and throughput performance.
The UK initiative forms part of the global GSMA Open Gateway programme, which now includes more than 79 mobile operator groups representing 291 networks and nearly 80% of mobile connections worldwide.
By bringing together operators from around the world, the GSMA Open Gateway initiative facilitates the design of digital products capable of operating seamlessly on all devices, regardless of the country or operator.
The service APIs are available through the CAMARA repository, an open-source project by the Linux Foundation and a fundamental part of the GSMA Open Gateway initiative.
