OneSpan doubles down on biometric FIDO authentication with Nok Nok Labs acquisition

OneSpan is diving into FIDO biometric authentication across its platform for passwordless e-signatures and digital banking transactions with the acquisition of Nok Nok Labs.

Integrating Nok Nok’s leading phishing-resistant FIDO authentication solutions gives OneSpan customers a wider range of flexible and future-proof authentication options, according to the announcement. OneSpan plans to build a unified portfolio of technologies that can deliver greater value to banking and enterprise customers alike.

Nok Nok counts a number of major brands amongst its customers, including T-Mobile, Verizon, BBVA and NTT Docomo, and the company co-founded the FIDO Alliance. The company’s President and CEO Phillip Dunkelberger told Biometric Update during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that Nok Nok was serving 8 of the 12 top telcos in the world, and discussed the importance of biometrics and FIDO keys in an era of increased remote interaction.

OneSpan has been steadily increasing its adoption of FIDO authentication protocols, launching its Digipass FIDO2 security keys with fingerprint biometrics in late-2023 and signing the Passkey Pledge in April.

FIDO Alliance ED and CEO Andrew Shikiar called Nok Nok “a trailblazer in the FIDO ecosystem,” which will benefit from “OneSpan’s global reach and resources.”

“Joining OneSpan marks an exciting new chapter for our team and our technology,” says Dunkelberger in the joint announcement. “We’ve always believed that open standards like FIDO are an important part of the future of authentication, and with OneSpan’s global reach and innovation engine, we’re now poised to bring our vision to an even broader audience.”

OneSpan CEO Victor Limongelli called the acquisition “a bold step toward providing customers with maximum choice in authentication.”

“We’re evolving our entire authentication platform to include FIDO standards because we believe passwordless is an important part of the future,” he adds. “With Nok Nok’s world-class technology and FIDO expertise, we now offer the most comprehensive and versatile customer authentication solution on the market.”

Several investors in OneSpan adjusted their positions in the company at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, including asset management giant Blackrock. At the time, the NASDAQ-traded company’s shares were selling for around $14. OneSpan shares closed Wednesday trading at $16.17. The company booked record-high EBITDA of $23 million in Q1 2025.

The terms of OneSpan’s acquisition of Nok Nok Labs were not publicly disclosed.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  FIDO2  |  multifactor authentication  |  Nok Nok Labs  |  OneSpan