CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA-- September 17, 2021 -- CYBER attacks pose a massive risk for financial institutions. The cost of data breaches averages tens of millions of dollars, and other after-effects are often far-reaching for organizations and their customers. At the root of these breaches are passwords - in an estimated 80% of cases.

“Eliminating passwords and replacing them with more secure and user-friendly solutions is critical,” says Entersekt’s SVP Product, Christian Ali.

Ali says there’s been a massive surge in online fraud in the past 18 months. Existing methods of authenticating consumers’ identities and transactions typically rely on outdated, less secure solutions like passwords or OTPs, while more secure solutions often require a mobile app. In addition, poor user experience often leads to cart abandonment - and lost sales. Users are frustrated and banks are at risk.

To address the divide between strong security on the one hand and good user experience on the other, Entersekt has expanded its authentication suite to include FIDO authentication. The FIDO2-certified solution is quick and easy to integrate into the customer journey. It offers an intuitive alternative to passwords and app-based authentication for login and online payments, and accepts both roaming and platform authenticators.

“Our platform allows financial institutions to offer their customers a truly intuitive user experience,” says Ali. “In Europe, it also allows institutions to comply with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2).” Entersekt’s solution was recently implemented by German issuing processor PLUSCARD in partnership with Netcetera, becoming the first FIDO-certified alternative to app-based authentication in Europe.

“We wanted to provide all our customers with a secure solution for authenticating online payments - including customers that do not use smartphone apps. The market-first FIDO implementation provided by Entersekt and Netcetera enables exactly that,” says Petra Silsbee, Head of Department: Fraud Prevention/Dispute Management at PLUSCARD.