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Amazon comes out with Payphrase

Phrase and PIN authentication
Fri Oct 30 2009, 11:33

ONLINE RETAIL HOUSE Amazon has announced its Payphrase authentication scheme that enables punters to use just one, easy-to-remember login credential at multiple e-commerce merchants.

The service will be available at all websites that use the company's Checkout by Amazon payment service.

Users can choose a phrase that they can easily remember. At check-out, the user simply types the phrase along with a four-digit PIN to authorise their purchase and complete the transaction.

Amazon hopes that this system will let consumers only have to remember and manage a single credential, rather than multiple login names and passwords.

"With Payphrase all you need is one phrase and one PIN to pay online," said Payphrase general manager Matt Williams. "We think customers will enjoy the simplicity that Amazon Payphrase offers, and we hope they'll have some fun choosing their own personal phrases."

The use of a single login system is becoming popular with retailers and consumers as the use of e-commerce websites and web shopping continues to rise. Companies such as Paypal and Verisign have worked to construct secure and convenient single sign-on authentication services. µ

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Comments
Scam friendly

Now they just have to phish for two credentials.

posted by : Da, 02 November 2009 Complain about this comment
Whaaat.

Sounds like quite the annoyance. Especially if case sensitivity comes into the mix.

Hmm... Did my payphrase have a "the", "of" or "that" in it? *try* *try* *try* *lockout*.

posted by : Paul Beck, 01 November 2009 Complain about this comment
Hah

Yeah people are so uniquely gifted and I'm sure they think up tons of never to be guessed phrases, but hey that's what the pincode is about I guess.

Agreed on richards's remark incidentally, very funny but also spot on.

posted by : W.-, 30 October 2009 Complain about this comment
@richard

LOL

posted by : giz, 30 October 2009 Complain about this comment
Popular

I predict that single-sign-on services will become so popular that there will be hundreds of them.

posted by : Richard, 30 October 2009 Complain about this comment
aboutus
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