Visa and Keyno reimagine identity verification for the digital era, launching the next generation of Tap use cases ? Tap to Confirm and Tap to Activate ? first with Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited.
Visa announced a major step forward in how consumers verify their identity in the digital era, with the first-ever deployment of its Tap to Confirm and Tap to Activate technology for issuing banks. Launched in collaboration with fintech partner Keyno and Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited, this innovation represents a paradigm shift in how consumers prove who they are to their financial institutions ? turning the physical Visa card into a trusted identity credential that works with a simple tap inside the banking app they already use.
As commerce becomes increasingly digital, identity verification has emerged as one of the defining challenges of modern banking and payments. Instead of relying on one-time passcodes, call center verification, or other complex authentication processes, cardholders can now confirm their identity or activate a new card simply by tapping their Visa card to their mobile device ? providing EMV-level security while delivering a frictionless user experience.
The breakthrough technology showcases Visa's innovation leadership by leveraging advanced EMV cryptography and Visa's proprietary Chip Authenticate service. The solution integrates Visa's robust Transaction Exchange (VTEX) API for real-time card data authentication directly through VisaNet ? the world's most advanced payment processing network, handling over 150 billion transactions annually.
Partnering with Keyno - whose technology provides secure digital card solutions - and launching first with Fidelity, Visa enhances issuers? ability to: Accelerate digital onboarding and activation with instant card activation; Reduce bank call center costs by turning users to in-app experiences; Reduce fraud significantly with best-in-class EMV cryptogram validation that surpasses SMS-based authentication; Offer customers faster, tap-based authentication for high-risk activity, like changes to passwords, mailing addresses, high value money transfers, or account limits; Eliminate friction while strengthening security - no more wait times for call centers or delayed SMS codes. Following the successful Fidelity pilot, Visa is positioning Tap to Confirm as a premium security and authentication solution with global expansion planned throughout the year.
Tap to Confirm lets cardholders verify possession of their card for actions like high-value transfers or account changes by simply tapping their Visa card on their own mobile device using the issuer's banking app, replacing OTP with secure EMV authentication. Tap to Activate allows cardholders to activate a new Visa card instantly and securely by tapping the card on their mobile phone within the issuer's app, eliminating the need to call support or enter activation codes. Visa has partnered with Keyno, a provider of secure digital card solutions, and Fidelity for the first commercial rollout of these breakthrough tap features.
The solutions use EMV chip cryptogram technology and Visa's Chip Authenticate service for each tap, creating highly secure, fraud-resistant authentication that significantly exceeds the security of other authentication methods. The initial rollout with Fidelity is now live, with plans for expansion throughout 2026. For this pilot, these features will be available within Fidelity's FIDSECURE mobile app powered by Keyno's technology and Visa's Tap to Confirm authentication infrastructure.
Unlike OTP or app-based authentication, Visa's Tap technology uses the physical card's EMV chip as the authentication factor, providing stronger security while simplifying the user experience.
