5 Reasons Passwordless Is a Boon for Business

We can all agree: the customer experience should be smooth and easy—a gilded path. But let’s face it, personal password management is more like a trivia game where the rules (and answers) keep changing. Logins are forgotten, hacked and easily shareable. Netflix, anyone?

Ditching passwords and switching to customer identity and access management (CIAM) can pay off in spades. With FIDO2 biometrics, we can now verify identities in a flash. Customers hardly pause on their way through the door if the solution is well designed. That’s exactly what they want: quick and easy access. Plus 83% believe biometric authentication is more secure.

These factors are fueling rapid adoption of passwordless customer authentication—not just to improve security but to elevate the customer experience. With FaceID or fingerprints, access feels effortless and ephemeral. And when you amplify ease, business will grow. Here’s why:

1) 33% of sales are abandoned because shoppers forget their passwords

Staggering, right? But not surprising. When I was waiting to pick up my daughter last week, I used my phone to shop for shoes. I found a pair of summer mules in a deep teal. Devine. For a moment, I was teleported from a rainy day to a sunny paradise. But then…the iron gates slammed shut when I tried to sign into my account at checkout.

We’ve all experienced this, including your customers. It’s time to contemplate (and fix) this reality. So let me say it again for impact: a third of online sales are lost. Did I hop on my laptop where I securely save logins to purchase those shoes later? No. When we got home, I cooked dinner…still sporting rain boots. I’m one of millions. Yes, millions of online sales are lost every day due to failed logins. 

2) Customers set free from passwords will reward you in sales (cha-ching)

Your customers are ready. 93% say they prefer biometrics to passwords, according to a market report by MasterCard. 89% say biometrics (facial scans and fingerprints) are either more secure or as equally trusted as passwords. 

By using biometric authentication, we can give your customers seamless, consistent experiences. When you remove friction, customers feel welcome to do business, use your service, shop or explore freely. Your revenue will jump — starting with 33% in sales previously lost to login failures.

3) Passwordless will reduce costs too

Biometric authentication shrinks the attack surface. If there are no passwords to steal, you’ve eliminated the primary tactic hackers use to infiltrate accounts. According to Verizon, 80% of breaches are linked to passwords. A single attack can cost millions, so the potential savings of preventing account takeovers can’t be overstated.

At the same time, you’ll cut customer support costs. Studies show up to 40% of helpdesk calls are password reset requests. Passwordless authentication could eliminate or minimize those support calls and the customers’ frustrations that come with them.  

Another way you’ll save money is by eliminating the security patchwork that is often required when your customers use reusable passwords. This patchwork often includes SMS one-time passcodes, push-to-authenticate apps, out-of-wallet questions and CAPTCHA systems. Each of these comes with a direct cost — often based on the volume of use — plus time and effort to integrate, maintain and support.

4) Licensing abuse is preventable with better authentication methods

Suffice to say, sharing is a great skill to teach a 4-year-old. But when a customer shares an account password to a language learning app, it hurts the company and its employees. Eso es malo! The good news is we can remedy that with biometric identity verification.

We’ve covered this topic in two other blogs: Why Password Sharing Kills Your Bottom Line and Netflix Is onto Users Who Share Their Passwords. They’re both worth reading to learn more about licensing abuse and how to stop it.

5) When done right passwordless is scalable, fast to deploy and authenticates users on any device, across all channels

A wide variety of CIAM solutions are now available, but there are many approaches—so choose wisely. With Transmit Security, you gain the advantages of FIDO2 WebAuthn biometrics plus the OpenID Connect protocol. This combination strengthens security while simplifying deployment across all apps and all channels, including web apps, mobile apps, call centers, kiosks and stores. Customers gain a true omnichannel experience.

 With Transmit Security passwordless customer authentication service, there’s no app required. An app is purely optional, depending on your needs. If you don’t ask customers to download an app, you can achieve higher adoption rates and lower friction. Read more on improving customer authentication.

With the right cloud-native service, your business can tap a new world of potential.

See how Transmit Security can boost your revenue.

¹ MasterCard, “Biometrics: Meeting the Challenge of authentication and payments technology,” Market Intelligence Report; updated March 9, 2019.