Out-of-band authentication

Definition
Out-of-band authentication

"includes any technique that allows the identity of the individual originating a transaction to be verified through a channel different from the one the customer is using to initiate the transaction. This type of layered authentication has been used in the commercial banking/brokerage business for many years. For example, funds transfer requests, purchase authorizations, or other monetary transactions are sent to the financial institution by the customer either by telephone or by fax. After the institution receives the request, a telephone call is usually made to another party within the company (if a business-generated transaction) or back to the originating individual. The telephoned party is asked for a predetermined word, phrase, or number that verifies that the transaction was legitimate and confirms the dollar amount. This layering approach precludes unauthorized transactions and identifies dollar amount errors, such as when a $1,000.00 order was intended but the decimal point was misplaced and the amount came back as $100,000.00."