What's your digital identity strategy?

The 2025 Global Digital Shopping Index found that 48% of shoppers globally¹ used their phones the last time they shopped, with phone use equally split across online and in-store shopping. So, whether they're browsing your website, using your mobile app, or visiting your physical store, customers expect frictionless transitions with a unified and connected experience.

Meeting this expectation requires a well-orchestrated integration of your digital identity solutions across all customer touchpoints.

When you know who a customer is as they shop across channels, you can provide the experience they expect, says Bryan Carroll, Senior Director of Product Management at Visa: “In a world of highly optimized experiences, consumers expect checkout to be friction-free. For merchants, failure to deliver an optimized unified commerce experience can result in missed sales and reputational damage that can discourage customer loyalty."

Truly nailing the omnichannel approach requires the tools that can help identify customers as they move through channels so you can personalize content, craft compelling offers, and make it easy to pay.

Read more about the power of unified commerce.

The challenge facing merchants is that making something easy to use can often means sacrificing security in the name of simplicity. Thankfully, this tradeoff is becoming less of an issue, as AI-enhanced digital identity verification can help prevent fraud without unnecessary friction.

Using a combination of AI-enriched data, location-based signals, and behavioral identifiers, suspicious activities can be detected before they become fraudulent—and without interrupting the customer’s experience. This always-on approach helps stay ahead of scammers by identifying suspicious patterns to prevent fraud before it starts.

Another benefit of digital authentication is that it gives users more freedom to use their preferred authentication methods without constantly needing to log back in. This is where user-first credentials come into play: give users the choice and allow them to control their own experiences.

Read more about AI-driven fraud management.

Payment credentials are the bedrock of any digital identity strategy. To verify and authenticate identities at scale requires a delicate balance between security and convenience.

There are 25 million account verifications performed per day on the Visa network—that’s a staggering 9.2 billion per year.² With such a huge volume, there’s a greater likelihood that friction could frustrate customers—and possibly push them to competitors.

This is why user-centric credentials are such an essential part of an effective digital identity strategy, says Arnaud Thulliez, Product Director at Accor: “The dream is frictionless payments: to have the most seamless payments journey for customers. If we can give them the best payments experience with Strong Consumer Authentication (SCA), it can help us maximize genuine bookings and minimize churn.”

To achieve the dream of frictionless payments at digital checkout, prioritize user experience. With phishing attacks, SIM swaps, and even synthetic identity fraud on the rise, traditional passwords and SMS-based authentication are becoming security liabilities.

Instead, consider moving toward authentication that avoid relying on passwords, like passkeys and biometrics:

• Biometrics: Features like on-device facial recognition, voice ID and palm scans, simplify digital identity verification without sacrificing speed or security.
• Passkeys: A digital credential that allows users to sign in to websites and apps without a password. This is a simple, secure identity solutions that’s also easy to use.
   

Read more about unlocking the power of credentials.

When it comes to digital identity in payments, customers want familiar, easy-to-use experiences that just work. These solutions must pass the “grandma test”: so simple that anyone can use them. Of course, that’s easier said than done.

There’s quite a bit of invisible infrastructure that supports a user-centric digital identity strategy:

• Self-serve credentials: Consider self-service options so customers can manage their own credentials, reducing administrative overhead while improving satisfaction.
• Standardization: Adopt industry standards like OAuth, OpenID Connect, and FIDO for interoperability, ease of use, and adaptability of your credential management systems.
• Modular design: A modular design, including microsevices and APIs, allows for easy updates and integration of new identity technologies, ensuring that your systems can handle growth without compromising performance.
• Cloud integration: Cloud services can provide the flexibility and scalability needed for tomorrow’s challenges. Cloud solutions offer cost efficiencies through pay-as-you-go models and reduced need for on-premises infrastructure.
• Data security: Robust data protection measures, including encryption and access controls, are essential to protect customer data. Regular security audits and compliance with relevant regulations help maintain trust and adherence to industry standards.
• Tokenization: If a customer’s digital identity is verified through a trusted authentication process, they may be able to use a convenient, tokenized payment method without needing to provide additional verification or exposing sensitive personal data.
   

Read more about the future of payments infrastructure.

As fraud threats from AI-enhanced bad actors increase, proactive identity authentication solutions are the foundation of effortless, secure customer experiences.

These solutions must work across regions, channels, platforms, and devices while remaining compliant with regional regulations and reduce complexity.

It’s a tall order, but one that’s achievable with smarter identity solutions that adapt in real-time, grow with your business, and work for customers—not against them.

Ready to build a user-centric payments approach that’s secure, seamless, and future-ready? We can help.