London, United Kingdom — Checkout.com has begun offering Visa Payment Passkey to selected merchants in the UK and Europe, allowing eligible shoppers to verify online payments using the same method they use to unlock their device, such as a fingerprint or face scan.
The announcement describes a phased rollout through Checkout.com’s existing authentication infrastructure. Eligible merchants can offer the feature without building a separate checkout flow, while transactions continue through existing verification methods when passkey authentication is unavailable.
Rami Josef, Senior Product Director at Checkout.com said: "Every one-time passcode is a point where a customer can walk away. Visa Payment Passkey lets returning shoppers authenticate the way they already unlock their phone, making checkout both safer and simpler. Because it runs on the authentication infrastructure our merchants already use, they can offer it without rebuilding their checkout."
The service supports both first-time and returning customers. Checkout.com identified retailers, marketplaces, food delivery providers and digital services among the businesses that could use it.
Visa Payment Passkey changes the verification step within an online purchase. Instead of entering a password or retrieving a one-time code, an enrolled shopper can confirm their identity through a compatible device. Visa’s product documentation describes the service as device-based authentication built on Fast Identity Online, or FIDO, standards.
The familiar fingerprint or face scan is the visible part of a process based on public-key cryptography. Visa’s technical guide also lists device PINs and patterns as authentication methods supported by the underlying standard, meaning biometric recognition is not the only way that device-based verification can work.
Enrollment remains part of the process. Visa says consumers complete a one-time setup to bind their device before using the service at participating merchants. Its consumer terms make clear that availability depends on support from the merchant, device, browser and other relevant parties. Users must also enable their device’s screen lock.
Registration is optional under those terms and is not required to transact with a merchant. The payment passkey therefore provides another supported route for identity verification, rather than making enrollment a universal condition for shopping online. The rollout does not mean every Visa payment will immediately use a passkey.
The FIDO Alliance, which publishes the authentication standards underpinning passkeys, describes them as cryptographic credentials designed to resist phishing. They replace the shared password model with a process in which the user’s device proves possession of the appropriate credential.
Biometric information stays on the device when it is used for a FIDO authentication check, according to the alliance. The remote service receives assurance that the check succeeded, rather than the shopper’s fingerprint or facial data. That separates the act of unlocking a credential from transmitting biometric information to a payment provider.
Passkeys are intended to reduce exposure to attacks involving stolen passwords and phishable verification codes.
Another large payment processor announced support on the same day. Amsterdam-based Adyen said it was integrating Visa Payment Passkey into Authenticate, part of its Adyen Uplift payment optimization suite, with initial availability in the UK and global expansion planned for 2027.
Adyen describes Authenticate as a system that selects whether and how to authenticate transactions, using machine learning to choose among available verification methods. Visa Payment Passkey becomes an additional option within that system, rather than a requirement that every transaction follow the same authentication path.
The two announcements describe separate implementations by different processors. Checkout.com’s selected-merchant rollout covers the UK and Europe, while Adyen identifies the UK as its initial market.
Checkout.com also said it supports Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol, which helps merchants recognize approved AI shopping agents. The payment passkey rollout concerns verifying the shopper, while agent recognition addresses the identity of software interacting with a merchant’s website.
Mathieu Altwegg, Head of Product & Solutions at Visa, said: “Consumers increasingly expect digital experiences that are both seamless and secure. By bringing Visa Payment Passkey to Checkout.com’s merchants, we’re making it easier for businesses to reduce friction at checkout and for consumers to authenticate securely. That will become even more important as AI agents play a greater role in how people shop and pay.”
Visa’s technical documentation for Trusted Agent Protocol describes a cryptographic approach to distinguishing legitimate agents from malicious bots or web crawlers. An agent includes a signed message in its request, and the merchant verifies that signature using the agent’s public key.
