In just a little while, and PayPal users worldwide will be able to log in to the payment service using Passkeys. This service is currently only available in the US, but passwordless login will be rolled out to all countries where the company operates in the coming weeks. It is still being determined when Dutch PayPal users can start using it.
A PayPal spokesperson confirms the worldwide rollout of Passkeys support to Tweakers.net.
This is how a Passkey works
Passwords are difficult to remember and are a favourite target of hackers and cybercriminals. If they manage to find out your password in any way, the consequences can be incalculable. In particular, if you use the same password for multiple online services.
A year ago, the FIDO Alliance invented Passkeys to log in without usernames and passwords. It is a security standard based on Web Authentication (WebAuthn). It uses authentication methods from registered and trusted customer devices. Think of a fingerprint, facial profile, pin code or physical security keys such as a Yubikey.
Passkeys work on the principles of asymmetric cryptography. That means there is both a public key and a private key. Providers of web services and apps generate the public key, and is available to everyone. You need a private key to log in. It can only be found on your mobile phone, physical security key or other device.
More and more parties support Passkeys
Major tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Meta have supported Passkeys for quite some time. Over the past few months, one party after another has been announcing that they are now or in the near future adding support for Passkeys, including Google, Dashlane, and Bitwarden.
A spokesperson confirms that users can create a Passkey for the payment service ‘in the coming weeks’ to the Dutch tech site Tweakers.net. This service is currently only available in the US.
From when Dutch PayPal users can generate a Passkey, the spokesperson leaves open. In an announcement from Passkeys in the UK, PayPal said that Passkeys not only makes users’ lives more accessible but also protect them against phishing.