Wultra Introduces Talisman, a Personal Identity Device Designed for the Modern Banking Landscape

Wultra, a leading provider of modern authentication and security solutions, is expanding its product portfolio with the launch of Talisman, a next-generation personal identity device that allows bank clients to access online banking with the speed and convenience of a mobile app, but with significantly enhanced security.

Talisman is the world’s only authenticator that delivers a seamless user experience, unparalleled security against phishing and malware, and full compliance with regulatory requirements.

User Experience as Intuitive as a Mobile App

With its extensive experience in building mobile token apps, Wultra has decided to address the biggest challenges of traditional hard tokens: Convenience and user experience.

Customers seeking robust security for their digital services have long endured the user-unfriendly nature of these tokens, which often require complicated setup processes, software installations from CDs, or the need for browser extensions. Moreover, confirming transactions with traditional hard tokens requires the manual transcription of one-time passwords (OTPs).

With Talisman, all these issues are eliminated. By leveraging FIDO2 technology, Wultra has created a personal identity device that seamlessly connects to online services. Talisman’s unique two-line display effortlessly guides customers through the authentication process, keeping them informed about what they’re confirming and allowing them to securely approve transactions with a PIN code. Moreover, there’s no need for customers to input transaction details into the device or re-enter verification codes.

Stop Phishing Attacks in Their Tracks

Wultra takes pride in its holistic approach to authentication by anticipating and preparing for emerging threats posed by advanced technologies. As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, deepfakes grow more convincing and interactive, and mobile malware becomes increasingly complex, Wultra has proactively equipped Talisman with impressive resistance to phishing and malware attacks.

Wultra CEO Petr Dvořák said, “A talisman is an object worn for protection, and our company is dedicated to protecting bank clients. Password-based authentication is now highly vulnerable to phishing, mobile malware, and remote access attacks. Biometric authentication, which was once considered a secure alternative, is now also being compromised by advanced AI and deepfakes. In response to these emerging trends, we’ve developed a future-proof authentication device with strong, ownership-based authentication at its core.”

Ensuring Full Compliance

With the launch of the Talisman, Wultra is also responding to significant upcoming legislative changes. The proposed PSD3 directive mandates the use of alternative authentication methods that aren’t reliant on a single technology, device, or mechanism (for example, the possession of a smartphone) to ensure that users have adaptable and diverse options for performing Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).

How Banks Can Get Started with Wultra’s Talisman

Banks and fintech companies can make use of Talisman in multiple ways. For bank customers — particularly for SMB business owners — Talisman provides a robust layer of security that extends beyond banking transactions, as it can be utilized to secure other sensitive accounts (such as those related to business operations or containing client data).

Wultra has already delivered nearly 10,000 devices to pilot European banks, with tens of thousands more on pre-order. Initial feedback highlights the device’s attractiveness due to its superior user experience and the ease of deployment provided by the FIDO2 standard, even for banks that aren’t already using Wultra’s authentication platform. Additionally, Talisman is roughly two to three times more affordable than less secure, non-compliant authenticators on the market, which lack features such as a built-in display, a keypad for PIN confirmation, and a chip for performing cryptographic operations in a secure runtime environment.

Furthermore, Talisman isn’t limited to external use by bank customers: It can also serve as a vital tool for a bank’s employees for securely authenticating themselves when accessing internal services and systems.