PayPal and Samsung have announced a collaboration that will make Samsung Galaxy S5 users the first to be able to login and shop at any merchant that accepts PayPal on mobile and in-stores with only their fingerprint.

The new secure, biometric feature means Galaxy S5 users will no longer need to remember passwords or login details across millions of PayPal merchants. PayPal will be the first global payments company to support Samsung’s mobile fingerprint authentication technology.

By using fingerprint authentication instead of a traditional login and password on the new, fifth generation Samsung Galaxy S5, launched today (February 26) at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, consumers benefit from an even more secure and seamless mobile and in-store shopping experience across the millions of merchants that accept PayPal.

“We spearheaded the Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance last year and predicted that the industry would soon move beyond passwords, and this announcement brings us one step closer to that reality,” said Hill Ferguson, chief product officer for PayPal.

“By working with Samsung to leverage fingerprint authentication technology on their new Galaxy S5, we are able to demonstrate that consumers don’t need to face a tradeoff between security and convenience. With a simple swipe of a finger, consumers can still securely log into their PayPal account to shop and pay with the convenience that mobile devices afford.”

PayPal provides a secure wallet in the cloud and doesn’t store personal information on the device. Customers can use their finger to pay with PayPal from their new Galaxy S5 because the FIDO Ready software on the device securely communicates between the fingerprint sensor on their device and PayPal’s service in the cloud.

The only information the device shares with PayPal is a unique encrypted key that allows PayPal to verify the identity of the customer without having to store any biometric information on PayPal’s servers.

"We are very excited about our relationship with PayPal as it will bring one of the most trusted online payment solutions in the world to the broader mobile market," said Hankil Yoon, senior vice president of Mobile Product Strategy.

"Together with PayPal, we expect to provide our customers with a seamless and secure experience in online shopping and payments on our new Samsung Galaxy S5."

Starting in April, PayPal fingerprint authentication on the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be available in 26 markets globally, including Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Russia, the UK and the US. – TradeArabia News Service