BBVA joins forces with Nok Nok Labs to boost the use of biometric authentication on its mobile banking services
BBVA has partnered with the authentication solutions company Nok Nok Labs — one of the driving forces behind the new FIDO (Fast Identity Online) standard aimed at strengthening the security of biometric systems on mobile devices. The agreement is part of BBVA's strategy to improve the security and user experience of its mobile banking services through state-of-the-art biometric capabilities.
Through this agreement, Nok Nok —a leading developer of authentication solutions— will provide BBVA with a series of technological capabilities. This will allow the bank to continue offering secure and scalable authentication solutions that put user privacy at the center of its mobile banking services, which are already being used by more than half of its customers worldwide.
In addition, the agreement with Nok Nok will allow BBVA to implement the new FIDO (Fast Identity Online) standard in its mobile banking services, which reinforces the security of biometric authentication systems in web and mobile applications. This standard, promoted by the FIDO Alliance, allows alternative identification systems, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, to be used instead of passwords in a comfortable and secure manner. In 2013 Nok Nok was one of the founding companies of the FIDO Alliance and, along with other industry members, it has contributed to developing the key technical specifications and features of this new standard, which is already being used by other leading digital companies.
Nok Nok provides BBVA with an interoperable solution that has the support necessary to adapt to industry standards and global regulations, such as for the European Market, Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) which defines minimum requirements for strong customer authentication. Thanks to the partnership with Nok Nok, BBVA will be able to continue offering its customers innovative and agile mobile banking solutions that offer a perfect balance between user experience and security.
"To provide customers with the highest security standards, along with a transparent and agile user experience"
"Traditionally, one of the biggest challenges of authentication systems has been to balance security with user experience. Due to the FIDO standard, we are confident that both elements work together seamlessly to provide customers with the highest security standards, along with a transparent and agile user experience. In this way, we can improve the ability of our clients to interact with us in a more natural way," says Juan Francisco Losa, BBVA's Global Technology Information Security Officer.
"Having a simple and robust authentication process on mobile devices is integral for protecting customer privacy,” said Phillip Dunkelberger, CEO of Nok Nok. "We are very proud to partner with BBVA and this is a fantastic collaboration for Nok Nok because it will allow us to introduce the latest innovations in authentication for customers, through a simple, transparent and secure experience. This agreement will allow us to continue expanding our international presence."