PayPal introduces passkeys in Germany and the UK

PayPal is offering passkeys outside of its US home market for the first time. The user-friendly login feature becomes available in Germany and the United Kingdom.

“Passkeys are designed to replace passwords and allow seamless logins for consumers across devices and platforms”, PayPal wrote when introducing the service in the US in late October last year. The company stated it makes online purchases easier for consumers, adding:

‘It removes checkout friction for merchants.’

Cryptographic key pairs

Passkeys are a relatively new industry standard created by the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium that replace passwords with cryptographic key pairs, offering customers a simple and secure way to log in to PayPal.

The technology is designed so that there is no shared passkey data between platforms. “They are both easier to use and more secure than passwords”, Google recently wrote in a blog about the ‘passwordless future’ it envisions. Instead, customers can log in quickly and securely using biometric features or a device password.

Apple and Google Android devices

PayPal introduced the new login option last fall for Apple-device users on PayPal.com and announced plans to expand to additional platforms as those platforms add support for passkeys. As a result, US PayPal users with a Google Android device can also use the functionality.

Now is the time for international expansion, according to PayPal in a press release:

‘Passkeys will be introduced in Germany in the coming weeks.’

PayPal is the most popular online payment option in Germany, according to the Online Payment 2023 study published last month by the German retail institute EHI.

UK introduction

In its release, the US payment company states that passkeys are known to be highly resistant to phishing, credential stuffing, and other remote attacks. The same is stated in the press release regarding the simultaneous introduction of passkeys in the UK. PayPal previously hinted that passkeys will also be introduced in other (European) countries this year.