Maya is urging customers to use its in-app Security Center, where they can approve Send Money transfers with Face ID or fingerprint instead of an SMS one-time password (OTP), BusinessMirror reported.

Maya launched the Security Center late last year and has added controls to it since.

What Users Can Do in the Security Center

Customers with upgraded accounts can enrol trusted phones through the Security Center, found under Profile or Services, or through a prompt after logging in.

Once a phone is enrolled, its biometrics can approve Send Money transactions, subject to Maya’s security checks, Gadget Pilipinas reported.

Under Account Security, users can view and remove trusted phones, check past logins through Login History, and change their registered mobile number, password or email address.

Maya Black and Landers Cashback Everywhere cardholders can also freeze their credit cards in the app.

Transfer Limits covers InstaPay transfers from Maya Wallet to other banks, as well as Insta-fill transfers from Maya Savings into Maya Wallet.

Shailesh Baidwan, Maya Group President and Maya Bank Co-Founder, said the Security Center puts practical controls “together in one place, making them easier to find and use.”

Moving Away From SMS OTPs

The biometric option follows the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) directive to replace SMS OTPs with stronger authentication for high-risk transfers.

Under Circular 1213, banks and e-wallet operators handling more than PHP 75 million in monthly online transactions had until June 2026 to comply.

Maya pairs the in-app controls with AI-supported fraud monitoring and holds ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certifications.

It also works with the BSP, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, the Department of Justice and the Philippine National Police on scam prevention.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by Magnific.