Public key infrastructure (PKI), to secure business-to-business payments over the Internet, faces an uncertain future unless financial institutions get behind it now, says a new report from Meridien Research.
With PKI, an authority trusted by both parties in a transaction certifies the public key, creating a digital certificate.
According to analyst Jeanne Capachin, PKI market penetration is far too high for it to disappear any time soon. But broad financial institution participation is needed to ensure its success or time will have run out for PKI.
"Cheques are a hard tradition to break but if banks were to embrace PKI, it would be a step in the right direction," says Capachin.
The report, 'PKI: It's Now or Never,' states that while PKI secures electronic payments by providing non-repudiation, payment guarantees and other features, it lacks adequate deployment, ubiquitous presence and mature trust infrastructures.