Plans include an open standard that would shrink users’ dependency on passwords. Plans include an open standard that would shrink users’ dependency on passwords. MasterCard has joined forces with an organization that aims to eliminate consumers’ dependency on passwords and PINs for authentication. Last Wednesday, USA Today broke the news that the global payment processor planned to become a member of the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance, which was formed in 2012 by online transaction giant PayPal and a number of other companies to embrace innovative solutions for verifying users’ identities. By early 2014, the FIDO Alliance plans to introduce specifications for an open protocol standard for two-factor and multifactor authentication . The specifications would support biometric technologies, such as fingerprint scanners, voice and facial recognition, and other authentication measures, including one-time passwords (OTP) and near-field communication (NFC), a wireless technology that establishes communication between mobile devices through physical contact. In April, Google joined the FIDO Alliance. Now with the addition of MasterCard, the organization gains another power player in the industry that could give weight to its mission. On Tuesday, Brennen Byrne, CEO of Clef, an Oakland, Calif.-based mobile authentication startup, told SCMagazine.com that MasterCard’s participation in FIDO was a positive step. “The industry in general is looking for new ways to improve [methods] of authenticating,” Byrne said. “So it’s not surprising to me that MasterCard is joining on and taking the FIDO Alliance seriously,” he continued, adding later that “it’s good […]

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