6 Reasons Why SaaS Companies Should Integrate Passkeys

Just ask yourself: how often has this happened to you? You needed to access a website and couldn't remember your password. Thus, you just chose not to login because also resetting the old one and managing the new password didn't seem like viable options. Thats an everyday example that demonstrates how important easy authentication is for any SaaS company.

Passkeys are a new super tool that not only enhances security but also has the potential to be one of the most effective growth hacks for any SaaS website or app. Passkeys will become an increasingly important aspect when offering any form of customer login, and SaaS companies are seeing their value as a secure and convenient solution to manage user authentication. Whether you have a public customer sign-up or not, integrating passkeys into your product can bring a range of benefits that improves your users' experience and secures your business:

1. Enhance IT security prevent phishing attacks
2. Save money by avoiding password-based expenditures
3. Increase your sign-up rate
4. Provide the best customer experience possible
5. Increase your customer retention rate
6. Be future-ready and gain a competitive advantage

Lets examine these advantages of passkeys for SaaS companies and why you should consider integrating them soon.

First and foremost, passkeys are a form of 2-factor authentication (2FA the device is the first factor and fingerprint / face scan is the second factor) but means significantly less friction for the user, as the second factor often isnt noticed. Unlike traditional passwords, which can be easily guessed, forgotten or stolen creating the basis of almost all attack vectors , passkeys are relying on public-key cryptography and are generated and stored on the user's device. They are bound to the device or account and cannot be extracted or stolen. Providing the users secure authentication is the top priority of a sign-up process and passkeys are one of the most secure authentication methods today. They prevent not only phishing attacks but all other password-based attacks, like credential stuffing or brute force attacks as well.

Companies that already authenticate their users via Single Sign-On (SSO) are often wondering if and how they can benefit from passkeys as well. Passkeys alongside SSO can provide a secure and easy login experience for all users. With SSO solutions, the customers themselves are responsible for account security. However, for all other accounts (e.g. for smaller companies or freelancers), it is not sufficient to refer to a traditional 2FA option as the 2FA activation rate is only between 12-15% and thus very low. Passkeys are by default a form of 2FA that is inherently active for all these users and does not require to open another app or pull out an additional device.

Resetting a password may seem like an insignificant task but the compound effect of thousands of resets can make a companys IT costs skyrocket and login conversion rates drop. According to a recent study by the Gartner Group, large businesses allocate nearly 50% of IT help desk costs to password resets (if there is no well-built self-service for password resets) and fix times range from 2-30 minutes. On average, it costs an enterprise $70 for a single password reset. This only concerns organization-internal password resets in customer-facing logins, the costs can be even higher because of "lost" conversions. Simply enabling passkeys will cut down on password reset requests since customers no longer need to remember a password for each application. Organizations can benefit significantly from this by reducing the cost of account lockouts and boost their login rates.

According to a poll conducted in several international markets, more than 46% of consumers avoided signing up for websites because they felt unsafe providing personal information. Moreover, 79% of users do not trust a website anymore once a data breach is made public. Hence, especially with a public customer sign-up, website visitors are far more likely to create an account if the authentication process gives them a sense of security. Passkeys can increase the security significantly without affecting the user experience. They are convenient since biometric login is the fastest login method and most users are already familiar with the underlying technologies such as Face ID, Touch ID or Windows Hello. Passkeys provide a solution that is superior in terms of both convenience and security, which will increase the likelihood that a user will create an account.

When creating sign-up forms, the main goal should be to stand out with your products user experience at the first touchpoint at the sign-up / login. Thus, having a user-friendly authentication is key for the following experience. By making use of biometric data for authentication, users can access the system without creating another password and instead leverage their on-device authentication. This great customer experience and simplicity of creating new accounts also pays off and can boost your conversion rates by up to 33%.

Passkeys can also be used to enhance customer engagement and build brand loyalty. Users are more likely to quit the website if the login process is too tedious. A passwordless option perfectly ensures they can log in at any time without the hassle of managing passwords or completing a multi-step authentication process. Especially, passkeys offer a more convenient and efficient solution for managing user access, as users dont even have to use email magic links or one-time passcodes. By providing a significantly easier sign-up process, a company's Net Promoter Score (NPS), which rates the likelihood of recommending a product or service, can be increased for that company's product.

Moreover, passkeys are synced inside an ecosystem via an Apple iCloud KeyChain, Google Password Manager or Microsoft account. Therefore, they are available on all devices using the same account which prevents the repeated creation of a passkey for each device. This makes it much easier for users to access a website and complete the tasks they need to, increasing user retention by 20 %. The credential selection is shown alongside passwords only when the user's authenticator has a credential registered with the website or app.

Another huge benefit of passkeys is their autofill functionality, which does not even require to remember the username (e.g., email address) anymore. Enabling automatic prefill of usernames and passkeys for any sign-up is a huge lever just think how often you visited a site, but did not remember the email address you used when signing up.

The digital leaders Apple, Google and Microsoft enforce passkeys as new login standard and digital-first companies with huge development resources like PayPal, eBay or Kayak already deploy passkeys to their customers. By being one of the first to support the new login standard, your company is immediately future-ready and provides a great USP when compared to competitors. In the current market situation, it is all about optimizing your existing processes and capturing potential customers (from competitors). Having a killer login with passkeys can be a huge lever and shows that you as a company care about customer- and data-centricity.

In conclusion, passkeys are an essential component for every modern product that handles customer authentication and offers a range of benefits for SaaS companies. Whether you provide a public sign-up or not, passkeys can help to improve user experience, enhance security, and boost your conversion rate. They are the most efficient and effective authentication method available and passkey authentication solutions from passkey providers, like Corbado, can be tailored to your specific needs and requirements. Therefore, your company should transition to passkeys authentication as soon as possible.