Phone Verification for E-commerce: Best Practices

Why Phone Verification Matters

In COD markets, phone verification is your first line of defense against:

Fake orders with invalid numbers

Prank orders from competitors

Fraudulent bulk orders

Types of Phone Verification

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SMS OTP

Universal compatibility

Works on all phones

Higher delivery rates

Cost: ₹0.15-0.25 per message

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WhatsApp OTP

Higher open rates (98%+)

Rich message formatting

Lower cost at scale

Better user experience

Implementation Best Practices

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Timing

Trigger OTP after checkout form submission

Set 60-second resend cooldown

Allow 3 OTP attempts before blocking

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UX Considerations

Auto-read OTP on Android devices

Clear error messages

Easy number correction option

Fallback to SMS if WhatsApp fails

Measuring Success

Track these metrics:

OTP delivery rate

Verification completion rate

Impact on conversion

RTO reduction