22nd May 2026 - 2 min read
AmBank will stop sending SMS one-time passwords (OTPs) for online card transactions from 1 October 2026. From that date, all online purchases made with AmBank credit cards, Islamic credit cards-i, and debit cards will require authorisation through AmSecure, an in-app approval feature on the AmOnline App.
If you already use AmSecure, you don’t need to do anything. If you’re still on SMS OTPs, you will need to activate AmSecure before October or else you won’t be able to complete online card purchases.
SMS OTPs work by sending a code to your registered mobile number, which you enter to confirm a transaction. AmSecure replaces this with a push notification sent directly to your AmOnline App, where you review the transaction details and tap “Authorise” to approve, or reject if something looks wrong.
An SMS OTP can be intercepted or redirected if your phone number is compromised, a method behind many SIM-swap frauds. AmSecure ties the authorisation to your mobile phone, which makes it much harder for a third party to approve a transaction without physically having your phone.
First-time activation of AmSecure has to be done at an AmBank ATM. It cannot be completed remotely. This is a one-time step that links your AmOnline App to your device.
Once that’s done, enable push notifications so that authorisation requests reach you in time. Open AmOnline, tap “More”, go to “Notification Settings”, and toggle on “In-app Notifications”. Without notifications enabled, you may miss the approval prompt mid-transaction. After that, approving a payment means opening the app, selecting “AmSecure Authorisation”, checking the transaction details, and tapping “Authorise”.
AmBank introduced AmSecure in early 2025, so some cardholders may already be set up. If you don’t know whether it’s working for you, open the app and check whether the “AmSecure Authorisation” option appears in the menu.
The ability to reject a transaction in real time is a great upgrade over SMS OTP. With AmSecure, an unauthorised attempt shows up as a push notification on your phone, and a single tap stops it before any money moves.
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Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.
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