Financial services top mobile verification activity

MobileSphere has released a Mobile Identity Index showing that financial services made up the largest share of mobile verification activity in the first half of 2026. The study analysed more than 579,000 anonymised verification events.

Financial services accounted for 41.6% of identified activity, ahead of digital services at 18.8% and messaging at 11.0%. Together, those three areas represented 71.4% of identified activity, rising to 81.2% when transportation was included.

The index is based on 579,236 aggregate verification events processed through MobileSphere's SLYNUMBER platform between January and June. Of those, 434,265, or about 75%, were categorised by the originating app or service.

The figures suggest mobile numbers are increasingly being used as a form of access across consumer digital services, rather than only for calls and texts. In MobileSphere's analysis, that use spans banking, payments, account recovery, messaging platforms and technology services.

Financial focus

Financial activity was the largest segment across the period and increased by 9.7 percentage points from the beginning to the end of the half, according to the study. MobileSphere said this included banks, payment services, bank-linking platforms, credit products and cash-flow tools.

The report also found shifts in verification activity around tax season, major travel periods and other global events. It said these movements suggest demand for access to financial, communications and mobility services changes alongside real-world behaviour.

Messaging services also gained share during the half. They represented 11.0% of identified activity and rose by 4.4 percentage points, with higher aggregate activity across several international messaging services during major travel periods.

Travel use

A key distinction in the findings is between mobile connectivity and mobile identity. While eSIMs, roaming plans, Wi-Fi and hotspots can keep users connected, access to a recognised mobile number may still be needed for banking, payments, messaging and account recovery.

That point may be especially relevant for travellers, expatriates and people living across borders, for whom continuity of access can depend on retaining a working number recognised by digital platforms. The report argued that the number itself is becoming part of the identity layer used to confirm access across services and devices.

MobileSphere also said AI services and international messaging showed some of the strongest growth signals in aggregate verification activity during the period. OpenAI-related activity reached record levels in May and June, while several messaging services hit record or near-record levels during busy travel periods.

The company described the index as a way to track changes over time in the digital services consumers rely on for identity and access. It said the findings should be read as directional rather than nationally representative or as market share data.

MobileSphere added that the analysis did not use customer identities, message content or personally identifiable customer information. The findings were based on aggregate and anonymised activity across its platform.

"The mobile number has quietly become a critical part of our digital life," said Toufic Mobarak, Founder and President, MobileSphere. "We depend on it to access our money, communicate, activate social and messaging apps, recover accounts, and confirm our identity. That role becomes even more critical when people travel, relocate, or live across borders."