AirKey

Some payment cards, like Capital One credit and debit cards, include a technology called AirKey. With Persona, you can use AirKey to verify your users' identity by having them tap their physical card to a smartphone.

Because the NFC chip embedded in each card is difficult to fabricate, AirKey adds a strong possession signal to your verification flow without requiring a document scan or selfie.

What is AirKey?

AirKey turns a Capital One credit or debit card into a hardware authentication token. When a user taps their card to their phone, Persona reads the chip and confirms physical possession of the card. Capital One also shares verified cardholder data (such as date of birth), which Persona uses to complete the identity step-up.

This makes AirKey useful as both a standalone verification method and a step-up layer on top of an existing flow.

What can be verified with AirKey?

AirKey supports the following use cases:

• Purchase confirmation
• Card and digital wallet provisioning
• Account creation, login, and password recovery
• Age-restricted goods verification
• Marketplace transaction facilitation

How it works

When Persona presents the AirKey step-up, your user sees a Capital One-branded "Verify with a tap" option. They place their card flat against the back of their phone, the NFC chip is read, and Capital One returns verified cardholder data to Persona to complete the check.

The experience differs slightly by platform:

• iOS: Uses an App Clip, so no full app download is required.
• Android: Uses WebNFC directly in the browser.

The full flow takes a few seconds from tap to confirmation.

Get started

AirKey is currently in beta. To request access, contact your customer success manager or reach out to our support team.