There are many discussions surrounding the multiple user names and passwords individuals must remember to gain access to accounts. Countries across the globe are investigating ways to make it easier for people to securely access information. In Canada, SecureKey Technologies will be enabling individuals to use bank cards for access to government sites, says Andre Boysen, executive vice president of Digital Identity and Authentication Services at the company.

MasterCard introduced a road map focused on advancing the U.S. electronic payments system. The map, which includes the path for migration from magnetic stripe to EMV technology available on chip cards, will serve as the foundation for the next generation of products and services.

Visa made waves in August when it unveiled a road map to move the U.S. to EMV and then again in January when the company said that the country’s deployment wouldn’t be chip and PIN. Stephanie Ericksen, head of Authentication Product Integration at Visa USA, talks to Regarding ID’s Gina Jordan about the move and why the U.S. will have a different solution than what other typically associate with EMV. “One thing that we’re trying to clarify is there are many countries around the world that have adopted EMV chip technology, but it’s not chip and PIN,” Ericksen says.

Using smart phones for online banking and shopping has been promoted as the next big thing, but adoption has been slow, partly due to the fact that smart phones have security issues. Scientific American reports that this might change with the development of quantum cryptography.