Safetrust Introduces Aliro Migration Credential to Move Enterprises Beyond Proprietary Access 

Aliro: The Last Migration from Proprietary Credential Technology Your Enterprise Will Need

DALLAS, Sept. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Safetrust today introduced the Safetrust Aliro 1.0 Migration Credential, a physical credential designed to help enterprises move from proprietary access technologies to the open Aliro standard without replacing their existing reader infrastructure. Enterprises can issue, manage, and update the credential themselves, while one organization-controlled identity can operate across Aliro-compatible readers from multiple vendors.

Traditional credentials often rely on proprietary keys controlled by an access control vendor. Aliro credentials instead use digital certificates the organization issues and controls. As with the certificates that secure websites and enterprise IT systems, the organization determines which identities are trusted, where they can be used, and how certificates are issued, updated, and revoked.

Organizations can also authorize external partners, including landlords, parking operators, and workplace service providers, to trust the same credential. One badge can therefore provide access to corporate offices, shared buildings, parking facilities, and other approved environments without requiring a separate credential from each provider.

For large enterprises, this provides direct control over credential security, less dependence on any single hardware vendor, and alignment across physical access, enterprise PKI, identity and access management, and Zero Trust strategy.

The credential implements the Connectivity Standards Alliance's Aliro 1.0 specification and works with Aliro-compatible hardware from multiple vendors. Aliro was developed through collaboration among more than 220 CSA member companies, including Apple, Google, Samsung, and Safetrust.

"Aliro represents the first time customers and vendors outside the government sector have come together around a common standard for organizational identity," said Jason Hart, CEO and co-founder of Safetrust. "For enterprise security leaders, this creates a path to stronger security and greater vendor choice without requiring a disruptive replacement of their existing access infrastructure."

As an open, multi-vendor standard, Aliro is becoming the enterprise equivalent of a passport: the issuer establishes a trusted identity, while independent organizations decide whether and where to accept it.

For decades, physical access customers have migrated from one proprietary credential technology to the next, often replacing readers, credentials, and key infrastructure with each generation. While the cryptography improved, the underlying model often did not: the credential vendor continued to control the technology and the critical trust infrastructure. When that vendor-controlled trust infrastructure was compromised, the security of the credentials customers relied upon was compromised with it, restarting the migration cycle all over again.

Aliro changes that model. Instead of asking customers to migrate to Safetrust's next proprietary credential, Safetrust is providing a migration path to an industry standard that any compliant vendor can implement. The organization, not Safetrust, generates and controls its keys and establishes its trust relationships, bringing physical access in line with the certificate-based security practices already familiar to enterprise IT.

The Safetrust Aliro credential simplifies migration by consolidating multiple legacy credentials onto a single card. Safetrust has independently developed emulation technology that enables interoperability with installed legacy reader ecosystems, including readers configured for HID^® Seos^® Standard and Elite credentials, LEAF credentials, vendor-specific credentials used with MIFARE^® DESFire^® data models, and more than 30 low-frequency proximity technologies. Safetrust independently developed these legacy-compatible applications, and they are not HID or other third-party credentials. This allows one physical credential to work with existing legacy readers without modifying the installed infrastructure, while also supporting migration to Aliro.

Organizations can therefore migrate to Aliro at their own pace without disrupting day-to-day operations. Existing readers can remain in service while Aliro-capable infrastructure is introduced progressively, starting with the highest-risk areas such as data centers, schools, production and warehouse environments, and other sensitive or unsupervised openings. As reader infrastructure is upgraded, the same credential transitions from legacy compatibility to Aliro's certificate-based trust model without requiring users to change cards again. The credential works with the infrastructure an organization has today and moves to a stronger trust model as Aliro-capable infrastructure is deployed.

The migration credential is designed to become more capable over time. Beyond physical access, organizations can enable additional applications and services on the same credential, extending their investment without issuing another badge.

The same physical credential can also extend beyond the door. An optional full FIDO2 application enables the Safetrust Aliro credential to operate as an NFC FIDO2 authenticator for compatible workstations, applications, services, and mobile devices. NFC tap-to-enroll is also supported, allowing organizations to consolidate physical access and strong digital authentication onto a single employee credential and potentially reduce the need for separate FIDO2 security tokens.

As security requirements and standards evolve, administrators update credentials in the field by tapping the card on a desktop reader or NFC-enabled phone. Specification updates, digital certificate changes, and support for additional legacy credentials apply without replacing the physical badge, extending its useful life and simplifying credential management.

Safetrust's patented Tap to Authenticate technology extends the physical credential into digital workflows. By tapping the card to an NFC-enabled phone or computer, an organization can authenticate the credential and initiate an approved browser-based workflow, including identity verification, support services, emergency assistance, credential self-service, or mobile credential provisioning.

For mobile wallet provisioning, organizations control which users are eligible and what identity verification is required before issuing an authorized credential to Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, or Safetrust Wallet.

The credentials are available in multiple form factors and can be ordered preprogrammed, programmed onsite, or provisioned with an NFC-enabled mobile device. They are available today through Safetrust distribution partners and will be available online through retail channels in Q4 2026.

Safetrust will demonstrate its Aliro physical credential alongside mobile credentials working across a range of vendors at the Global Security Exchange (GSX), September 14–16, 2026, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Visit Safetrust at Booth 3545 and attend One Credential, Any Reader: How the Aliro Standard Ends Vendor Lock-In on Tuesday, September 15, from 2:45–3:45 p.m. ET in Room B308/B309. Safetrust will also host the webinar Aliro: The Card on Wednesday, September 9, at 11 a.m. PT. Register here

About Safetrust

Safetrust is an open, IT-centric platform that turns physical access into real-time operational intelligence. We help large enterprises modernize security while keeping full control of their keys and certificates. Built on open standards and intelligent edge applications, Safetrust works with the access systems organizations already own. For more information, visit safetrust.com.

Media Contact
Brooke Grigsby
media@safetrust.com
+1 214 960-1705 ext 110

Trademark and IP Disclaimer: Apple and Apple Wallet are trademarks of Apple Inc.; Google and Google Wallet are trademarks of Google LLC; Samsung and Samsung Wallet are trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; HID and Seos are registered trademarks of HID Global Corporation; and MIFARE and DESFire are registered trademarks of NXP B.V. Safetrust is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by HID Global Corporation or NXP B.V. Safetrust independently developed the Aliro card implementation, emulation technology, and related developments referenced herein. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.