OneSpan has been selected to provide FIDO authentication technology for a shared authentication initiative involving participating banks in Japan’s TSUBASA Alliance. The project will establish common authentication infrastructure for the banks’ mobile personal banking applications, giving them a way to strengthen account security while maintaining convenient customer sign-in. The selection highlights growing interest in phishing-resistant authentication and passkeys as financial institutions respond to account takeover attacks, credential theft, and increasingly sophisticated digital fraud.
OneSpan FIDO Technology Selected for Japan’s TSUBASA Banking Initiative
Regional banks face a difficult security trade-off: strengthen protection against phishing and account takeover without making mobile banking harder to use. Passwords and one-time passcodes remain vulnerable to social engineering, credential theft, and interception, while more complex authentication procedures can create friction for customers.
OneSpan’s selection for a shared authentication initiative involving Japan’s TSUBASA Alliance is an effort to address both concerns.
The project will establish common FIDO authentication infrastructure for use in participating banks’ mobile personal banking applications. Instead of each institution independently developing and maintaining its own authentication system, the shared approach is intended to make deployment more efficient and provide a consistent security foundation across the participating banks.
The TSUBASA Alliance is a collaboration framework among Japanese regional banks that preserves the independence of its members. Established in 2015, it has grown to include 10 institutions: Chiba Bank, Daishi Hokuetsu Bank, Chugoku Bank, Iyo Bank, Toho Bank, North Pacific Bank, Musashino Bank, Shiga Bank, Bank of the Ryukyus, and Gunma Bank. The announcement concerns participating banks in the initiative; it does not establish that all 10 will deploy the technology simultaneously.
How FIDO Authentication Changes Mobile Banking Security
FIDO authentication uses public-key cryptography rather than relying solely on passwords or shared secrets. During registration, a device creates a cryptographic key pair. The private key remains protected on the user’s device, while the corresponding public key is registered with the service.
When a customer signs in, the device uses the private key to respond to an authentication challenge. The process can be unlocked through built-in security features such as fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, or a device PIN.
An important security advantage is that FIDO credentials are associated with the legitimate service or application. This makes them resistant to common phishing techniques that trick customers into entering passwords or one-time codes on fraudulent websites.
For banks, the technology offers a way to strengthen authentication while giving customers a familiar sign-in experience. It can also support passkey-based access, reducing dependence on passwords and some traditional forms of multifactor authentication.
However, FIDO authentication does not eliminate every form of banking fraud. Social engineering, compromised devices, account recovery weaknesses, and fraudulent transaction authorization remain relevant risks. Banks still need layered security controls, monitoring, and appropriate transaction safeguards.
Shared Infrastructure Could Reduce Deployment Complexity
The shared infrastructure model is a central feature of the TSUBASA initiative.
Regional banks often operate with different technology environments, application architectures, and operational requirements. Implementing advanced authentication independently can involve separate integration projects, maintenance responsibilities, security testing, and ongoing vendor coordination.
A common authentication foundation could reduce duplicated implementation work while allowing participating institutions to retain their own banking applications and customer relationships.
A related announcement from Japanese technology services provider SCSK provides additional implementation context. SCSK said it would support construction of the shared FIDO authentication infrastructure and integration of FIDO functionality into existing personal banking applications using its MINEFOCUS banking application package. OneSpan’s authentication solution is being used as part of that work.
This clarifies the broader delivery model: OneSpan supplies authentication technology, while SCSK contributes application integration and infrastructure implementation. The arrangement illustrates how financial institutions can combine specialist security technology with local systems integration expertise.
The announcement does not disclose contract value, implementation costs, deployment dates, or the number of banks participating in the initial rollout.
Passkey Adoption Strengthens the Business Case
The initiative comes as passkeys move from early deployment toward wider use across digital services.
The FIDO Alliance’s Passkey Index 2026, published in October, found that 36% of successful sign-ins across the participating organizations used passkeys, up from 26% in 2025. The report also found that passkey sign-ins succeeded 93% of the time, compared with 78% for traditional multifactor authentication sign-ins. FIDO Alliance
These figures indicate that passwordless authentication can offer both security and usability benefits, although the report’s findings should not be interpreted as a direct measure of outcomes at Japanese banks.
For financial institutions, the appeal is not limited to reducing password-related risk. Authentication affects customer experience, support costs, and the security of high-value digital transactions. A system that makes secure access easier may also reduce the burden of password resets and one-time passcode management.
The TSUBASA initiative could give participating regional banks a way to adopt this approach collectively rather than developing separate solutions.
OneSpan Expands Its Position in Japan’s Financial Services Market
The selection adds to OneSpan’s work in Japan, where the company says it has supported FIDO authentication and passkey deployments, particularly in financial services.
Its DigipassONE Authenticate offering provides multiple authentication options, allowing organizations to select approaches based on their technical, operational, and regulatory requirements.
OneSpan operates in a competitive identity and authentication market that includes specialist cybersecurity vendors and broader digital identity providers. Its positioning in financial services rests on combining authentication technology with security capabilities designed for regulated organizations.
The Japanese banking initiative also highlights the importance of local partnerships. SCSK’s involvement provides application integration and infrastructure expertise, while the TSUBASA framework gives participating institutions a mechanism for coordinating technology initiatives without merging their operations.
For OneSpan, the project represents an opportunity to extend FIDO authentication across a group of regional financial institutions. For the banks, the potential value lies in improving mobile banking security while sharing parts of the underlying technology investment.
The eventual impact will depend on implementation quality, customer adoption, device compatibility, and how authentication is applied to sensitive activities such as transfers and account changes. Nevertheless, the initiative demonstrates how shared infrastructure can help regional banks adopt modern authentication standards without each institution having to build the entire capability independently.
Market Landscape
The announcement reflects four developments shaping digital banking security.
1. Passwordless authentication is gaining traction
Passkeys and FIDO standards are increasingly being adopted as alternatives to passwords and traditional one-time passcodes. Public-key cryptography helps reduce exposure to credential theft and phishing.
2. Regional banks are sharing technology infrastructure
Collaborative technology initiatives can help smaller financial institutions access advanced security capabilities without independently funding every component. Shared infrastructure may also support more consistent implementation and maintenance.
3. Authentication is becoming part of the customer experience
Banks must balance strong security with convenient mobile access. Biometric authentication and device-based passkeys can reduce login friction while strengthening protection.
4. Security requires more than stronger login controls
FIDO can make authentication more resistant to phishing, but banks still need fraud monitoring, transaction verification, device security, and account recovery safeguards.
Competitive context
| Provider | Relevant market focus |
|---|---|
| OneSpan | FIDO authentication, passkeys, digital identity and transaction security |
| Entrust | Identity verification, authentication and payment security |
| Thales | Digital identity, authentication and hardware security |
| Okta | Workforce and customer identity management |
| FIDO Alliance | Open authentication standards and passkey ecosystem development |
GlobalFinTechEdge perspective: The strongest story is the use of shared authentication infrastructure to bring phishing-resistant security to regional banking applications. The initiative is relevant not only because of OneSpan’s technology selection, but because it shows how banks can coordinate security modernization while maintaining independent operations.
Top Insights
- OneSpan’s FIDO technology has been selected for a shared authentication initiative involving participating banks in Japan’s TSUBASA Alliance.
- The shared infrastructure will support FIDO authentication in participating banks’ mobile personal banking applications.
- FIDO uses public-key cryptography and device-based security features to provide phishing-resistant authentication.
- SCSK will support the shared infrastructure and integration into existing banking applications using its MINEFOCUS application package.
- The FIDO Alliance’s 2026 Passkey Index found that passkeys accounted for 36% of successful sign-ins across participating organizations.
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