Traditional card-based authentication has become a headache in recent years. You never know what will happen when you swipe a card, enter a PIN, or input a password. From phishing attacks to credential leaks and all digital threats have accelerated in this evolving digital world. So how do we secure our payment streams without degrading the customer experience?
Digital payments are already seeing results; transaction success rates have jumped by 2–3 points as biometrics and passkeys replace outdated authentication methods. Enter biometric and passkey authentication, technologies that are rewriting the rules. Biometrics tie access to who you truly are, while passkeys replace fragile passwords with device-bound cryptographic keys. Together, they move authentication from shared secrets to verified presence. Research from Aware and Keyless shows this approach can cut identity fraud attempts by nearly half while making logins 30% faster.
For card-based ecosystems, this isn’t just about technology; it’s a whole new philosophy. Identity verification can now move beyond plastic and PINs to a seamless, secure, and intuitive experience that mirrors how modern users live, transact, and trust.
The Shift from Card and PIN to Biometric and Passkey
We have all been using the card and PIN system for ages. But now, as we step into even more digital living, static credentials aren’t a good way to keep up. Biometric - fingerprints, facial recognition, voice patterns securely store everything in your device.
Passkeys add another layer, generating a unique pair of cryptographic keys. The private key never leaves your device, while the public key stays with the service. When you authenticate, your device signs a challenge with the private key, which is verified against the public key.
This means credentials can’t be reused. Simply put, biometrics prove who you are, and passkeys prove which device you trust. Your card transforms from a simple plastic ID into a physical anchor for a digital identity that cannot be forged or cloned, secure, personal, and uniquely yours.
The Technical Core of the Biometric-Passkey Convergence
Behind every seamless login is more than just technology; it is a redefining of confidence in the digital world. There are three phases: enrolment, authentication, and lifecycle management.
During enrolment, your unique biometric information, such as a fingerprint or face, is recorded and securely saved on your device as an encrypted template. At the same time, a passkey pair is generated, which connects your identity to your device in a manner that passwords never could.
When you authenticate, your biometric unlocks the private key to sign a service challenge, eliminating the need for passwords entirely. Lifecycle management then ensures credentials are synced, revoked, or recovered across devices without friction.
Liveness checks let only real users in, stopping attacks. Biometrics and passkeys make security easy, personal, and future-ready.
Industry Drivers Fueling the Shift
The financial and payments world is under pressure like never before, with credential-based attacks on the rise. This urgency is fueling a move toward passwordless, biometric-first solutions. FSS Tech reports that passkey-enabled payments can cut failed authentication attempts by almost 40% and shrink transaction times to under two seconds.
In banking, this means fewer abandoned sessions and smoother compliance with multi-factor authentication rules. But it’s not just about payments. Companies can now replace their card-based employee IDs with biometrics and passkeys for physical and digital entry.
Public sector IDs can link physical cards with digital credentials, creating a single trusted identity. Card-based identity is evolving into a hybrid model, blending physical proof with digital trust.
Advantages of Biometric and Passkey Authentication
Security, compliance, and usability are the advantages if we have to talk about generic ones. Below are more advantages in this regard:
- Phishing and emerging attack resistance: Passkeys only work on the right website, keeping your login safe, and checks like face or device verification stop fake logins or tricks.
- Stronger identity binding: Linking biometrics with device-bound keys ensures that only permitted users can log in.
- User convenience: Logging in with a touch or glance eliminates password fatigue and reduces user drop-offs.
- Scalable compliance: These methods align with global standards such as FIDO2 and PSD2 without the friction of OTPs or passwords.
- Privacy preservation: Biometric data never leaves the device, ensuring compliance with local privacy mandates while maintaining user control.
- Operational efficiency: Organizations report fewer reset requests and authentication failures
Implementation Challenges and Considerations
Moving from card-and-PIN to biometrics and passkeys isn’t just a tech upgrade; it’s a complex transformation that demands precision, foresight, and the right implementation strategy.
One key challenge is device diversity; not all users have biometric-capable hardware, making secure fallback methods essential. Account recovery must be robust, too; losing a device shouldn’t mean losing identity access. Hardware recovery keys, multi-device synchronization, or secondary biometric methods can help ensure resilience.
Integration with legacy card systems presents another layer of complexity. Many financial institutions and enterprises must preserve compatibility with existing infrastructure while layering in biometric and passkey capabilities without service disruption. Privacy regulations, especially in regions like India, further demand that biometric data remains local and encrypted, never transmitted or stored externally.
To tackle these challenges, organizations need a flexible plan with risk-based authentication, continuous monitoring, and user awareness tailored to their devices, rules, and experience. Done right, security, compliance, and user trust work together, linking traditional card-based systems with the passwordless future of biometrics and passkeys.
Conclusion
Biometric and passkey authentication represent a giant leap in card-based identity. They move us beyond static credentials to security that is personal, private, and effortless. They bring authentication closer to the individual, making trust and convenience central to every interaction. For banking, payments, and enterprise security, this is the foundation of a passwordless future, not just safer, but transforming how people engage with their identity.
As digital ecosystems expand across India and beyond, Verinite’s expertise in secure identity modernization helps organizations bridge today’s card-based systems with tomorrow’s biometric-passkey reality, leading the way into a smarter, more trusted world.
FAQs
1. How can banks begin integrating passkeys and biometrics with their existing card infrastructure?
Banks can start by adding biometric enrollment during card issuance and linking passkeys through mobile apps. As Verinite’s research emphasizes, incremental rollout through sandbox environments helps validate security and user acceptance before full-scale deployment.
2. Are passkeys safe enough to replace passwords entirely?
Yes. Passkeys use asymmetric cryptography, so even if a database is breached, private keys stay safe. Paired with biometrics, they offer far stronger security than passwords or OTPs.
3. What about users who do not have biometric-enabled devices?
Enterprises should provide secure backups like hardware tokens or trusted devices, while promoting biometrics as users upgrade to newer tech.
Sankhadeep Chakraborty
Sankhadeep heads the engineering arm in Verinite. He has been associated with the BFSI domain from the start of his career. He is a hardcore techie and innovation drives him. He believes in the saying "Nothing is impossible"