More users are leaving passwords on the tarmac

The rigors of boarding an airplane post-9/11 are well-documented: ID checks; removal of belts, shoes, laptops, decanting your toiletries into three fluid ounce containers; frantically stuffing plastic tubs with personal belongings before the travelers behind you hum the Jeopardy theme.

Over the past two decades, however, frequent and occasional flyers alike have subscribed to expedited customs programs from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and ​​U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that slingshot travelers to their terminals with their clothes and luggage untouched. The friction alleviated by programs such as TSA PreCheck and Global Entry is comparable to the slog of old-school account login — travelers hate waiting in line; modern app users hate keying in username/password combos upon each visit or being asked to verify the email they have just entered in a different application.

Passwordless authentication is the account login equivalent of PreCheck and Global Entry. Here is why passwordless is taking off, and how apps are “boarding” their users expeditiously while creating a fraud-free, Trusted User Experience.

Passwords don’t fly anymore

Just as line-weary travelers have opted for PreCheck and Global Entry, research suggests more and more users are ready to leave passwords on the tarmac.

Earlier this year, Experian’s Global Identity & Fraud Report asked more than 2,700 businesses and 9,000 consumers about their preferred login approach. For the first time since Experian’s ran this annual report, passwords landed outside the top three. Respondents, more security-conscious amid a 20-percent bump in online traffic during the pandemic, felt more comfortable logging in via physical/behavioral biometrics and SMS pin codes.

The data dictates that we are rapidly approaching a passwordless future. Like the airline passengers who get in and out of customs with a simple biometric scan, a growing contingent of app users desire a quick and seamless customer journey. Businesses must answer the call by implementing passwordless login that operates in real time yet still mitigates fraud risk. It’s not just money that’s at stake either — it’s the trust of users.

A trusted user experience attracts frequent flyers

Frustrated as travelers may be with slow-moving lines, they’re unlikely to leave the airport and take Greyhound. They have a plane to catch, and anything short of death will not warrant a ticket refund. App users, on the other hand, inundated with platforms and services, have every reason to seek out a frictionless alternative.

Businesses that don’t adopt a passwordless approach risk losing customers, some of whom will share their sluggish user experience with others and ultimately damage a brand’s reputation. Even worse, companies with lengthy authentication processes at the account signup stage will dissuade people from using the product in the first place. Recently, one QSR company admitted that they lost 10 percent of new app signups due to the email verification step not being completed, rendering the fast food app a no-food app.

In the spirit of PreCheck and Global Entry, apps must expedite the user journey by installing a passwordless login apparatus that is fast as it is safe. This requires an intelligent fraud solution with enough data to authenticate users in real time and remain in lockstep with an ever-shifting cybersecurity landscape. By analyzing multiple factors in real time — device, geography, time of login, account activity etc. — platforms can verify fast and reliably at login, get users in-app in a flash, and create a Trusted User Experience that generates customer loyalty.

Deduce can’t expand the leg room on your next flight, but we can get your user authentication flying in no time. Try us for free today, and build a fraud-free, Trusted User Experience that converts your customers into frequent thumb-tappers and mouse-clickers.

Customer churn can happen early — even before checkout

Central to transforming the user experience is removing the friction involved in account creation verification. It’s the first step of the customer journey — before the customer is actually a customer — and often an overlooked source of churn. The Deduce team has seen cases in which companies signing up tens of thousands, or millions, of new users per month have lost 10 percent of these accounts due to email verification problems alone (verification emails landing in spam, issues with mobile email apps, etc.).

Track the lifetime value of those thousands of customers over time, not to mention the negative brand reputation accrued, and the damage is significant.

A new report from CMO Council, comprising 2,000 consumers from the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland, shows just how fed up customers are with frustrating authentication processes. Here are some notable takeaways:

• More than 60 percent of consumers surveyed had canceled a transaction due to inefficient authentication
• 81 percent of respondents indicated they would seek out companies that employed an easy and secure identity verification process
• 34 percent preferred to use biometrics as a primary means of authentication; 10 percent preferred to use passwords

As for brand reputation, most respondents (53 percent) reported that login problems were a substantial detractor, and an overwhelming majority (85 percent) indicated they look down on a company with identity verification issues. This specifically rang true for banks, credit providers, mobile payment apps, and other types of financial services.

There is a way to eliminate this account creation friction. Deploy an identify fraud solution such as Deduce that can provide trust signals on each new account creation in real time. If the new customer is designated as trustworthy, take them down the Trusted User Experience journey to your application or service. If the solution determines potentially fraudulent account creation activity, route the user down the traditional path.

Here’s an example of a frictionless returning customer experience. Let’s say a fraud prevention solution flags potentially fraudulent activity when a customer, who’s attempting to use their saved credit card info, logs in to a new device to book a dinner reservation. The application, in this case Resy, a restaurant discovery platform, verifies the customer’s identity through the following steps:

• First page: Enter email
• Second page: Enter phone number
• Third Page: Resy sends a text message with a code
• Customer enters code and accesses the application

This is a brand that really cares about customer experience and wants to minimize steps/friction. At no point is the customer asked for their password.

Like Resy, other brands are upping their game in the user authentication department — Gartner expects more than 60 percent of large enterprises to adopt passwordless login by 2022. ​​But passwordless isn’t perfect: devices can be stolen, biometrics can be spoofed, and hackers will inevitably adapt to new authentication tools by way of SIM swapping, intercepting SMS messages, biometric database leaks, and other methods. To avoid customer churn caused by sluggish account verification, and thwart account takeover fraud, companies must ultimately simplify account verification via identity intelligence: a contextual, data-driven solution that can confirm a user’s identity in real time.

Click here to try Deduce for free and keep your customers moving with real-time identity verification.