Checkout.com, a leading global digital payments provider, today announced it is the first payment provider to partner with Google Pay to bring its biometric-based secure payment authentication service to merchants.

Checkout.com, which offers authentication to merchants such as Remitly, will offer Google Pay's biometric authentication to brands that seek to increase their digital payments performance and speed up their authentication for customers. This offers a streamlined alternative to other authentication methods, where a customer verifies their identity with a one-time passcode and, in the process, is often redirected to multiple different pages.

By integrating with the secure payment authentication service from Google Pay, Checkout.com will offer device biometric checks like a PIN, password and facial recognition to speed up the checkout process for merchants, increase acceptance and authentication performance, and drive higher conversion rates at the checkout.

In its initial roll-out, the integration with the secure payment authentication service has already proven successful. eSky, a B2B travel booking company on Checkout.com's platform, reported a 14 second reduction in checkout time, as well as a 5 percentage point uplift in authentication rate and 3 percentage point uplift in the authorization success rate, compared to the 3DS alternative.

To complement this new service from Google Pay, merchants can also incorporate Checkout.com's AI-based dynamic routing ('Intelligent Acceptance'), a system built on billions of transactions that selects the optimal authentication option for each merchant and transaction. This means that shoppers can complete transactions in three simple steps, enjoying a faster checkout experience.

Guillaume Pousaz, Founder and CEO at Checkout.com said: "This marks a significant leap forward in authentication, directly tackling the primary performance challenges faced by merchants with the existing 3DS solutions. Through this innovation, we're the first PSP to pioneer a digital wallet-like experience driven by biometric authentication."

Ben Volk, Vice President and General Manager, Google Pay, said: "We're always looking for ways to improve the checkout experience for shoppers while reducing cart abandonment rates for merchants. With our secure payment authentication service, we are able to reduce friction at checkout by speeding up the process, all-the-while ensuring a secure payment experience and further reducing fraud."

Nick Moiseff, Executive Vice President, FinTech Platform at Remitly, said: "At Remitly, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to deliver seamless, secure, and delightful payment experiences for our customers. We're excited to partner with Checkout.com to explore how Google Pay's secure payment authentication can support our commitment to excellence in digital payments. This collaboration is part of our ongoing effort to continuously improve the customer experience and enhance access to financial services."