The FIDO Alliance announced today the launch of a new Payments Working Group (PWG) focused on developing and implementing FIDO authentication solutions specifically for payment use cases. This initiative marks a significant expansion of the organization’s efforts to eliminate password dependencies in critical digital transactions.
The new working group emerges at a time of growing momentum for passwordless authentication in the payments sector. Last year, Visa implemented passkeys for online payments, allowing customers to authorize transactions using biometric authentication rather than traditional passwords.
The Alliance, which now comprises over 250 members, has been steadily expanding its influence across various sectors of digital authentication.
“FIDO Alliance introduces new working groups very infrequently, and only after considerable research and deliberation,” wrote FIDO Alliance Executive Director and CEO Andrew Shikiar. “The PWG will be a powerful forum where payment, IT and other industry stakeholders can convene to identify and discuss best practices for payment authentication – including the growing use of passkeys for payments.”
The timing of the PWG launch aligns with broader industry developments in passwordless authentication. Recent reports indicate that billions of accounts now support passkeys, with the FIDO Alliance anticipating significant breakthroughs in banking, payments, and travel sectors throughout 2025.
The financial sector has already begun embracing biometric authentication solutions. For instance, Tesco Bank’s implementation of biometric onboarding for their mobile payment app demonstrates the growing trend toward more secure, passwordless authentication methods in financial services.
The FIDO Alliance continues to attract new members with specialized expertise. Recently, Inverid joined the alliance to advance NFC document authentication standards, highlighting the organization’s expanding scope across different authentication technologies.
The new Payments Working Group will focus on developing specifications and standards that address the unique challenges of payment authentication, building on the Alliance’s existing work in creating open specifications for phishing-resistant user authentication and secure device onboarding.
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May 1, 2025 – by Ji-seo Kim
