FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Electronic Funds Transfer Association (EFTA), which works to advance electronic payments and commerce through responsible federal government relations, today released, “User Authentication for Payments,” a white paper and free resource for the payments industry. The full report is available at no charge at http://efta.org/2016/07/understanding-payments-authentication/. It is the first of a three-part series.
As an association that represents large financial institutions, payment processors, software companies, card companies and ATM networks, the EFTA has prepared this white paper to address the importance of user authentication for all stakeholders in the payments industry. The paper describes the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) guidelines on how a multi-layered, dynamic and out-of-band authentication provides the best level of protection against a compromise in the payment transaction while also protecting consumers’ personal data. Authentication techniques described in the report include:
- Static/dynamic biometrics
- Financial institution PIN
- Device fingerprint
- Knowledge-based access
- One-time password generated in hardware or software
“There has been significant activity in the payment industry to support EMV chip cards and tokenization as measures to combat consumer card fraud,” said Kurt Helwig, president and CEO of the EFTA. “However, for consumers who shop online or use online banking services, the bigger concern is identity theft and account takeover. Given the ever advancing tactics by increasingly emboldened fraudsters, it’s imperative for the payments industry to work as a whole utilizing innovative solutions to keep up with the war against fraud.”
Working with Maria T. Arminio, president and CEO of Avenue B Consulting, Inc., the EFTA has created this three-part white paper series to be used as a resource for advancing an understanding that all parties involved in the payments process should leverage user authentication to maintain the integrity of the payments environment.
Part two of the series will focus on the benefits, challenges and development of industry standards around user authentication as well as provide a clear call to action for implementation.
About EFTA
The Electronic Funds Transfer Association (EFTA) is a non-profit trade association dedicated to the advancement of electronic payments and electronic commerce. EFTA’s nearly 300 members include the nation’s leading financial institutions, ATM owners, networks and manufacturers, payment processors, card companies, software companies, state governments and technology services providers. For nearly 40 years it has informed debate over the consumer, business and policy implications of new and existing payments technology. EFTA accomplishes this through public outreach to Congress, the administrative agencies, regulators, consumers and the media. For more information, visit www.efta.org.
