Visa has launched a new payment system that uses a biometric digital ID to verify every transaction.
The company unveiled a major new partnership with Proof, a digital identity company.
The move brings the world closer to a future where every financial transaction is tied to verified biometric data.
The collaboration merges Proof’s identity-verification technology with Visa’s global payment network, allowing identity to be confirmed before money ever changes hands.
Visa describes the transformation as the digital equivalent of the EMV chip for the Internet age.
In a statement, Daniel Sanford, Visa’s senior vice president of Global Products and Initiatives, said:
“Trusted digital identity is the next frontier for enabling secure commerce.
“We’re connecting Visa’s global network and payments innovations with Proof’s platform to fundamentally transform how identity is used in all types of transactions.”
The “EMV Chip for Digital Identity”
Proof’s Certify platform combines biometric data, cryptographic signatures, and AI-driven fraud detection to confirm a user’s identity before a transaction is approved.
The company describes Certify as a “reusable identity credential,” one that could make passwords and manual verification obsolete.
Proof CEO and founder Pat Kinsel said the technology is designed to stop deepfakes, impersonation, and account takeovers, while also enabling secure account recovery.
Kinsel explained that the cryptographic protections embedded in Certify “cannot be forged by generative AI.”
Visa and Proof argue the system will deliver greater trust and fraud protection for consumers and businesses alike, mirroring the security revolution EMV chips brought to in-person card payments decades ago.
From Convenience to Control
Behind the technical promise lies a broader shift in how identity, privacy, and commerce intersect.
Financial institutions, technology companies, and even governments are increasingly aligning around the idea that anonymity online is an obstacle to both security and regulatory compliance.
The move toward biometric-linked payments is part of a global trend, one that seeks to tie a centrally-controlled digital ID directly to every transaction in the name of safety and fraud prevention.
Supporters say the model could reduce financial crime, stop money laundering, and improve global trade efficiency.
However, critics warn that the same systems that promise security also centralize unprecedented control over personal data and behavior.
A Global Push for Verified Identity
Digital ID frameworks are already expanding beyond banking into other sectors.
Biometric verification is being tied to healthcare access, airport screening, and even social media verification in several countries.
Together, these initiatives are building a unified infrastructure where every digital interaction, whether buying groceries, transferring money, or logging into an account, can be permanently linked to a verified identity.
While advocates see it as a safer and more transparent digital economy, privacy experts say it may also mark the end of online anonymity, a defining feature of the modern internet.
As digital identity becomes the foundation of everyday transactions, one question looms large:
Who ultimately controls the data: the user, or the network that verifies them?
READ MORE – UK Government: Digital ID Concerns Are ‘Misinformation’
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