SMS scrubbing comes into effect: Hiccups for banking, e-comm ops as OTPs fail

The functioning of banks and e-commerce firms were hit on Monday as telecom servie providers (TSPs) started implementing the second phase of SMS regulation. The move disrupted several crucial services, especially sending of one-time password (OTP) by banks and e-commerce firms for various services.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) guideline that the verification process of every SMS content will have to be done before it is delivered — known as scrubbing — was implemented on Monday after several delays. As result, unverified and unregistered SMS messages were blocked by telecom operators.

However, the implementation of the SMS regulation hit the process of sending OTP for various payment services.