stc pay Replaces OTPs with In-App Card Payment Approvals in Bahrain

stc pay Bahrain has replaced one-time passwords with an in-app transaction authentication feature for online card payments. The feature, called stc pay Secure Approve, is already live. It requires no action from users and no opt-in. The next time a customer pays with an stc pay card online, the request for approval appears inside the mobile app.

Secure Approve displays the merchant’s name and the transaction amount in real time. The customer can confirm or decline the payment using the in-app credentials and device security they already have. That is the end of SMS or email OTPs for stc pay cardholders in Bahrain. Traditional OTP verification has a known set of weaknesses. Codes can be intercepted in transit, phished from customers, or stolen through SIM swap fraud. Removing the external code removes a step an attacker could target.

An approval prompt asks for a decision rather than a number. The security rests on the phone, the app login, and whatever lock the customer has enabled. That is harder to redirect than a text message.

stc pay says it is the first financial technology provider in Bahrain to let customers review and approve payments inside its mobile app. Metin Zavrak, CEO of stc pay, said security needs to be dependable without adding friction. The update, according to Zavrak, gives customers full visibility over their transactions before they authorise a payment. He connects that to stc pay’s goal of becoming the region’s most advanced digital wallet.

stc pay is not a standalone brand. It operates under STC Group, the largest telecommunications and digital services provider in Saudi Arabia. The group runs stc pay operations in Bahrain and Kuwait and has flagged plans to expand the service into the UAE. The stc pay website already lists the UAE among the countries it serves. Bahrain is one of the first markets to get the new approval flow, but the underlying system is being positioned for a wider footprint.

The launch follows a series of recent product updates in Bahrain. stc pay has partnered with PayPal for cross-border transfers and added support for Mastercard Click to Pay. Those additions are about moving money and paying without re-entering card details. Secure Approve extends the same idea into security, taking away the separate SMS or email prompt.

Putting authentication inside the payment app shifts the security boundary. Instead of trusting a code sent through an external channel, the customer makes the decision on the device they already carry. That fixes a real flaw in OTP-based payments, but it also makes the app a bigger target for criminals. The stakes get higher as STC Group pushes stc pay toward the UAE and a broader customer base.