Authentication

Since the first promise to pay was made, knowing who you’re dealing with has been a requirement. Authenticating the identity of a trading partner – a customer, an accountholder, a business or even a computer – is a burden that falls on the one extending trust because the giver takes on the transaction risk. In online and mobile transactions, the job of authentication has fallen on the password’s sagging shoulders in combination with other credentials such as a payment card or drivers license.