Bitfinex Pay to integrate U2F authentication for online merchant payments

Published at: Sept. 3, 2021

In an effort to increase customers' security and privacy on its platform, cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has announced the adoption of open authentication standard universal second factor (U2F) within its merchant payments service, Bitfinex Pay.

The move enables the capacity for online stores and merchants adopting the Bitfinex Pay widget to receive payments for goods and services in a range of crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Lightning Network BTC (LN-BTC) and Tether (USDT) on the Ethereum and Tron blockchains.

Customers of a registered merchant can choose the "Pay with Bitfinex" option upon checkout. After a brief detour through the Bitfinex payment gateway, the customer will be returned to the merchant's website. Once confirmed, payment will be sent directly to the merchant’s connected Bitfinex wallet address.

With this introduction, Bitfinex is positioning the U2F key — a physical USB device — as an alternative to traditional two-factor authentication methods such as text-message or app notifications. The devices can be used across laptops and mobile devices and require a six-digit passcode to grant payment approval.

The chief technology officer of Bitfinex, Paolo Ardoino, shared his comments on the feature:

“As a trailblazer in digital payments, Bitfinex Pay has already become a popular payment tool and with the addition of U2F, we are providing our users with further means of protecting themselves.”

He continued to say: “These security keys make it almost impossible for a hacker to intercept both your password and the two-factor code.”

Related: Canadian Bitcoin miner Blockstream joins crypto unicorns with $3.2B valuation

In November 2020, payments giant PayPal debuted cryptocurrency payments on its United States platform, granting customers the ability to buy, hold and sell a selection of popular digital assets. More recently, this feature branched out into its United Kingdom market.

In time, Paypal plans to facilitate the transaction of crypto payments across its established network of 26 million online and physical merchants.

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