PayPal has launched its passkey support for Apple device users in the US. This will make it easier and safer to log in to its services.
According to the payment giant, PayPal account users on iPhone, iPad and Mac will be able to sign in without using a password.
The passkey functionality is expected to be available on Android in due course, according to PayPal. Earlier in the month, Google had released passkey support for Android and Chrome, and is already gearing up to release the stable version, including an API for native Android apps before the year runs out.
Passkey explained:
Passkey uses your biometrics to log you into your account; however, it is different from using your face or fingerprints to automatically populate your username and password boxes.
Password makes you “the login;” upon activation, it creates a cryptographic key pair linked with your account.
One of those keys is public, which is used by apps and services to confirm your identity during log in. The other key is not only private, but is stored on your devices, which makes it difficult for hackers to steal or have access to it. To make sure you are the one trying to log in, apps and websites that support passkey match the public key with the one stored on your device.
To turn on passkey, simply log into your account with a browser on either desktop or mobile with your user ID and password, then choose the “Create a passkey” option. After authentication using your Apple Face ID or Touch ID, your passkey will be automatically generated.
The good thing is that you do not need to repeat the process since passkeys are synched with iCloud Keychain. For your other accounts without passkeys, there is an option to generate a QR code after entering your user ID. The QR code can then be scanned with an iPhone that does not support passkey in order to log in.
“Launching passkeys for PayPal is foundational to our commitment to offering our customers safe, secure and easy ways to access and manage their daily financial lives,” said Doug Bland, SVP and GM, Head of Consumer, PayPal. “We are excited to provide our customers a more seamless checkout experience that eliminates the risks of weak and reused credentials and removes the frustration of remembering a password. We are making it easier for customers to shop online.”
