PayPal Passkeys: Register easily and securely without a password

Even the strongest password does not provide perfect protection against theft and misuse. Users often use the same access data for many services on the Internet, and other times the password is too easy to guess or too weak. PayPal wants to make it easier for its customers – and above all to ensure better account protection. In a recent report, the online payment service provider announced that it will introduce a passwordless login method: PayPal Passkeys.

To make online logins more secure, many companies around the world have collaborated and founded the FIDO Alliance, including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, Samsung – and PayPal. Together they have developed a more secure login procedure, which should prove itself as an alternative to passwords. The authentication application is not required to use so-called passkeys, as is known from other login procedures. Passkeys are an encrypted pair of keys that are automatically generated in place of a password during account registration. The public key remains on the provider’s server, and the user receives the private key. If a user wants to sign up for a service, the website or app sends a request for the private key. The user then receives a confirmation request on their device, such as a smartphone, which they must confirm using a fingerprint, PIN or face ID.

To use passkeys, the operating system of your smartphone, tablet or PC must support this operation. Google began testing the FIDO standard in Android and Chrome in early October 2022. Microsoft announced that its accounts would be ready for passkeys in the near future. Newly released updates for Apple devices — iOS 16, iPadOS 16.1, and macOS 13 Ventura — already fully support the passwordless sign-in procedure. Accordingly, iPhone, iPad and Mac users can now enjoy securing their PayPal accounts with passkeys. However, at the moment only via desktop browser or mobile web – and only in the USA. The new functionality should be available in other countries in early 2023. PayPal has also announced that it will provide support for the PayPal app and other platforms in the coming months.