Amazon comes out with Payphrase

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