A systematic review of multi-factor authentication in digital payment systems: NIST standards alignment and industry implementation analysis

This survey presents a systematic evaluation of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) practices in digital payment systems, analyzing their alignment with NIST Special Publications 800-63 guidelines. Through a comprehensive review of 70 academic papers published between 2017–2024 and 13 industry-based authentication tools, we examine how current implementations measure against Identity Assurance Level (IAL) and Authentication Assurance Level (AAL) standards. Our analysis reveals a significant gap between theoretical capabilities proposed in academic research and actual industry implementations, with 33% of tools relying primarily on OTP-based authentication despite more advanced methods being available. The survey identifies emerging trends like biometric authentication adoption (60% of analyzed papers) and varying regulatory compliance across sectors, with payment systems demonstrating 77% alignment with standards while IoT and E-Service domains show fragmented approaches. We propose a framework for developing adaptive authentication systems that balance security requirements with user experience through context-aware risk assessment. This work provides valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working to enhance the security and usability of digital payment authentication systems.