In December last year T-Mobile promised that in 2017 the new technology will replace outdated text messages used, for instance, to authorize money transfers or to confirm a user's identity online. Now the wireless operator declared that it will be the first telecommunications company in Poland to offer this solution to their customers. For now, it will only be available for the caller tune service users logging in via a computer web browser. Caller tune is a service that allows you to set up a song to be played for callers while they wait for you to pick up.

Related: Cardtronics is Withdrawing from the Polish Market

To log in, instead of using a password, you will now be able to choose the “log in with Mobile Connect” option. After you enter your phone number and confirm it on the site, your phone will show you a push notification. If you tap “OK” on your phone screen, you will confirm the login. After a moment the site will refresh, and you will be logged in.

This modest commercial use may turn out to be interesting if other websites decide to use it as well. It seems that Mobile Connect may compete with KIR's “mojeID” solution which uses internet banking logins and passwords to confirm users’ identity on privately owned websites.

Related: Tesco Ends Cooperation with Alior Bank on Tesco Finanse

Interestingly, Polish banks are increasingly using so-called mobile authorization instead of good old one-time text message passwords for authorizing transactions. Last year mBank started using this method in its mobile app (and other banks, such as ING, followed). The difference between Mobile Connect and mobile authorization is that in the case of the latter, the message is generated through the banking app and the user needs to be online, while Mobile Connect only uses the mobile network signal.