FIDO Authentication Gains Momentum in US and European Financial Services

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 28, 2015) - The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance (https://www.fidoalliance.org/), an industry consortium launched in 2013 to revolutionize online security with open standards for simpler, stronger authentication, today announced new leadership from the Financial Services industry will contribute valuable experience and insight to the global initiative poised to supplant the world's reliance on passwords. Today, leading banks in Europe and the U.S., ING Bank and USAA, join Bank of America, Discover, MasterCard, PayPal, and Visa as financial institutions on a diverse 25-member board of directors that is shaping global standards for strong authentication.

Dustin Ingalls, president of the FIDO Alliance said, "As one of seven founding members, PayPal has made it clear from the outset that passwords have proven themselves to be a significant problem for the Financial Services sector and their customers. Today, we welcome two leading financial institutions, ING and USAA, commending their and by extension the financial sector's growing influence in the FIDO Alliance. Together, we can make a security difference for companies around the world."

Though FIDO standards are designed to meet the authentication requirements of every segment and use case, Financial Services may have the most urgent need as their clients demand privacy, security and convenience in all transactions. Pent-up demand in mobile payments markets accelerated the world's first deployment of FIDO authentication when PayPal, Samsung, Synaptics, and Nok Nok Labs collaborated to meet the need. FIDO board members Alibaba and Nok Nok Labs partnered soon after to deliver FIDO authentication for securing mobile payments for 600 million Alipay users. Since then, membership in the FIDO Alliance has grown beyond 200 companies and government agencies, including several financial institutions, such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan Chase.

ING Bank of the Netherlands is a global financial institution with a strong European customer base. Its 53,000 employees offer retail and commercial banking services to customers in over 40 countries. ING is currently the number one 'diversified financials' company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. As their commitment to FIDO authentication illustrates, ING Bank is focused on empowering people and organizations to stay a step ahead in life and in business.