US-based integrated payments company American Express has announced expanding Card Member and Merchant protection by upgrading to SafeKey EMV 3-D Secure 2.3. As one of the first payment networks to upgrade to the latest version of the security protocol, American Express intends to provide a more secure checkout experience.

To be more specific, Through SafeKey 2.3, American Express is offering protection for purchases on gaming consoles and headless devices, such as smart speakers. It also provides further biometric support, payment information, and user interface improvements. The biometric support comes as a Secure Payment Confirmation, a web API that allows merchants to accept biometric authentication from customers.

As per American Express' official statement, the new version of their SafeKey solution, SafeKey 2.3, aims to provide their card members with improved protection against fraud while also offering a seamless shopping experience. In addition, by updating its 3DS protocol, American Express will update the security of the checkout process on the devices that its card members utilise daily. This move is intended to prevent fraudsters from taking advantage of the evolving shopping habits of consumers.

SafeKey 2.3 updates and capabilities American Express SafeKey is designed to offer both Merchants and Card Members a more seamless authentication experience when checking out using gaming consoles and headless devices. During this process, SafeKey’s technology works in the background to authenticate the user’s identity. The latest version also includes a new feature called Secure Payment Confirmation.

This is a Web API that offers added biometric support to SafeKey, making it easier for merchants to authenticate transactions. These security capabilities reduce the risk of fraudsters tricking Card Members into revealing one-time passcodes. Additionally, Card Members can use this improved usability for online and mobile purchases within apps.

A further benefit of SakeKey 2.3 is improved payment information, allowing Card Members to see recurring billing dates and payment amounts during the SafeKey authentication process when setting up a recurring billing transaction. American Express's previous updates SafeKey is American Express’ security standard for online transactions, based on the 3D Secure protocol for card-not-present transactions. Before officially updating to the latest version, SakeKey 2.3, the payment network secured a series of previous updates to improve its security.

At the beginning of October 2023, American Express added face and fingerprint biometrics recognition to SafeKey for online transactions, to meet regulatory requirements and securely streamline online checkout through a pilot program. These technologies were designed to create a simpler authentication process with higher security over passwords alone, being supported on all major web browsers as well as iOS and Android platforms. .