At CASA25, Nicolai Schaettgen (Match-Maker Ventures) hosted a candid fireside chat with Ramazan Soganci, Portfolio Lead CPaaS at KPN, diving into how the Dutch telco is reinventing itself through practical network API use cases. The star example? A collaboration with buy-now-pay-later giant Riverty — not built on technology for its own sake, but on something more fundamental: trust.

From Side Project to Strategic Priority

Two years ago, CPaaS at KPN was still treated like a side hustle. Like many telcos, KPN had spent a decade debating RCS and dabbling in APIs. But the rise of enterprise digital transformation—and the demand for flexible, secure, real-time communications—finally pushed the company to act.

That shift came with a new mindset: expose telco assets through APIs, go beyond messaging, and focus on value creation. Today, Ramazan leads this transformation. His team is scaling KPN’s CPaaS and network API business in partnership with aggregators and enterprises—proving the time for real deployment is now.

The Riverty Story: Trust Is the Real Currency

When financial services firm Riverty (formerly Arvato) approached KPN, it wasn’t to discuss APIs, pricing, or product specs. The conversation centered on trust—the most valuable asset in financial services.

With growing regulatory pressure across Europe, Riverty needed a robust age verification solution to protect consumers and satisfy regulators. Could telco data play a role in ensuring underage users weren’t accessing credit? Could the solution be seamless, scalable, and compliant?

KPN said yes—and delivered a simple yet powerful age verification API. The solution checks, in real time, whether a buyer is 18 or older, using KPN’s verified subscriber data. It’s frictionless, accurate, and—critically—trusted by both regulators and customers.

“We never discussed financial KPIs with Riverty,” Ramazan noted. “The entire conversation was about trust, compliance, and protecting customers.”

Beyond KPN’s Network: Scale Through Collaboration

One standout aspect of this use case: it doesn’t stop with KPN subscribers. Realizing that full market coverage is essential for enterprise buyers, KPN collaborated with other Dutch telcos and aggregators to make the solution available across networks.

This is not the telco playbook of old. It’s a new era of API-driven cooperation, where value comes from federation, not fragmentation.

“No customer accepts 40% coverage. To win, we need scale—and that means working together,” Ramazan said. “It’s not about ego anymore.”

A Strategic Framework: Communication + Network + Identity APIs

KPN’s offering spans far beyond a single use case. Ramazan described their CPaaS strategy as built around three pillars:

• Communication APIs – traditional messaging and voice (SMS, RCS, etc)
• Network APIs – exposing telco assets like quality on demand, SIM swap detection, and location
• Identity APIs – enabling age, identity, and silent authentication use cases

Each API is evaluated based on relevance to specific verticals, with financial services and e-commerce currently showing the most traction due to their fraud and compliance needs.

“We don’t believe in throwing dozens of APIs into the market and hoping for adoption,” Ramazan emphasized. “We start with real use cases, solve problems, and then scale.”

Hyperscalers, Developers, and the Go-to-Market Dilemma

One of the most honest parts of the discussion was around hyperscalers. Ramazan acknowledged that companies like Amazon and Google have a head start when it comes to developer relationships—but KPN isn’t trying to compete on the same terms.

Instead, they’re going deep in verticals, working directly with compliance officers, risk managers, and business owners, not just IT or procurement.

This account-based, consultative approach helped land the Riverty deal—and it’s the foundation for growth in other industries.

What’s Next: From Proof to Scale

KPN isn’t alone anymore. With GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative pushing global alignment, and more telcos investing in practical, privacy-compliant APIs, momentum is building. But challenges remain.

To truly scale:

Cross-operator collaboration must become the norm Success cases like Riverty must be productized and marketed The developer experience still needs simplification and abstraction Telcos must embrace new go-to-market roles, beyond network operations

Ramazan closed with a call to action:

“The industry needs more collaboration—not just among telcos, but with aggregators, platforms, and innovators in this room.”

Key Takeaways

• Trust is a strategic differentiator. Telcos can offer unique identity and verification tools that businesses—and regulators—will rely on.
• Start small, scale smart. Don’t launch dozens of APIs. Build reference use cases with high-value verticals, then replicate.
• Partnerships matter. Cross-operator collaboration and aggregator support are key to reaching enterprise-grade scale.
• Riverty is just the beginning. Financial services and e-commerce are ripe for more telco-powered identity and fraud solutions.

Final Word

At CASA25, the buzzword wasn’t APIs. It was impact. And KPN’s Riverty collaboration is a clear signal: telcos can move from slow-moving incumbents to trusted partners in the digital economy—when they build with purpose.

Let’s make it happen. Together.

“On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”

That decades-old meme still holds power—and in some ways, it’s the root problem of digital trust today. At CASA25, Helene Vigue, Identity and Data Director at GSMA, took the stage to talk about how telcos, through initiatives like GSMA Open Gateway, are finally in a position to help solve that problem at scale.

This isn’t about flashy new technology. It’s about enabling real-world trust in a digital world—and it’s where network APIs and mobile identity become not just relevant, but essential.

A World of Identities—and a Crisis of Trust

In a compelling, no-nonsense keynote, Helene walked us through a simple but powerful idea: your phone is the bridge between your physical self and your digital footprint.

“Mobile identity leverages this connection to enable businesses to securely verify customer identities—with minimal friction.”

Why does this matter? Because fraud is exploding. Scams and data breaches are growing faster than digital payments. And as AI evolves, it enables not only better customer service—but also faster, cheaper, scalable fraud attacks.

Meanwhile, regulators are responding with age assurance mandates, stronger compliance rules, and increasing scrutiny on platforms. Enterprises are stuck in the middle—trying to protect users while keeping the customer experience smooth.

This is where telcos come in. By exposing network APIs, they can deliver trusted signals directly from the source—such as SIM swap detection, number verification, and next-gen authentication.

From SMS OTP to Seamless Authentication

For years, we relied on SMS one-time passwords (OTP) to verify identities. But between rising costs, phishing attacks, and poor UX, the industry has outgrown that solution.

Operators are now offering seamless, passwordless authentication, enabled directly via the network. It’s faster (up to 2x), has better completion rates (up to +20%), and is more secure.

Helene highlighted examples like:

• Lydia (Banking) – Using mobile authentication to reduce fraud and total cost of ownership
• Ride-hailing & entertainment platforms – Focusing on speed and user experience
• Telkomsel (Operator) – Pivoting away from legacy A2P SMS by launching number verification APIs to win back enterprise trust

Identity APIs in Action: Fraud Prevention That Works

In Argentina, SIM swap fraud had become a major issue. Local operators responded by tightening internal security and launching a shared SIM swap API—used heavily by banks and payment providers.

A standout example: Movipay, which powers public transport payments. They were suffering from high levels of chargeback fraud, where criminals hijacked accounts, loaded funds, then reclaimed them. By implementing SIM swap monitoring, Movipay reduced this fraud by 80% in six months—while cutting manual review processes significantly.

This is what network APIs should be about: real outcomes, not just tech specs.

Why Partners Are the Missing Link

Helene didn’t sugarcoat the challenges. When asked what has disappointed her most in the Open Gateway initiative, she responded bluntly:

“We are too slow. That’s not a disappointment—that’s expected when you work with operators. What is disappointing is that new markets don’t learn fast enough from others… especially the critical role of partners.”

Too many telcos still try to go it alone. But the winners—those showing real traction—work closely with partners like:

Identity aggregators (combining mobile identity with broader identity stacks) CPaaS providers (scaling APIs across networks) System integrators (embedding identity into enterprise workflows)

Without this ecosystem, even the best APIs will fail to deliver value.

Mobile Identity as the Foundation for Digital Trust

Helene shared a full identity journey—from account creation to authentication, transaction security, and account management—showing where mobile signals can add trust at every stage.

From checking a number’s validity at sign-up, to monitoring SIM swap risk during transactions, to verifying ownership before allowing changes to an account—the network knows. And now, through Open Gateway, that knowledge can be safely shared with enterprises and platforms that need it.

An Open Call to Action

Helene closed with a clear message:

“If you haven’t yet joined the Open Gateway initiative, we really encourage you to do so.”

With over 100 networks launched, 200 APIs certified, and 80% of global connections represented, Open Gateway is more than a promise—it’s a movement.

But to reach full impact, it needs more partners, more adoption, and more success stories.

Final Thought: Telcos, Don’t Waste the Opportunity

Identity might just be the killer app for network APIs.

It delivers compliance, reduces fraud, improves UX, and lowers costs—all while aligning perfectly with telcos’ core strengths: trust, ubiquity, and infrastructure.

But only if they act boldly, partner smartly, and learn from each other.

Because in a world where nobody knows you’re a dog on the internet… mobile identity might just be our best leash on truth.

Recommended Next Step:

👉 Download the Mobile Identity Report from GSMA (if you haven’t already)