> Source: [/docs/accounts/authentication](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/authentication.md) > Section: [Accounts](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts.md). Create accounts, set up signing methods, policies, access keys, key rotation, and fees, and follow guides for users, automations, agents, and teams. > [Documentation index](https://tempo.xyz/developers/llms.txt) · [Docs skill](https://tempo.xyz/developers/SKILL.md) > Tempo MCP: Use `search`, `find_pages`, `read_page`, and `code` at `https://mcp.tempo.xyz` for Tempo and related documentation. > If an indexed page is missing or reflects an older site, read this site’s [documentation index](https://tempo.xyz/developers/llms.txt) and Markdown pages directly. # Signing Methods A signing method is the kind of key that approves an account's transactions. ## Overview A signing method is a passkey, a device key, or a private key. Choose one by who should hold it. A passkey or device key stays with the customer. A private key on your server or with a wallet provider lets that party sign too. Every method works on mainnet and testnet today. Each can be the one key of a [single-key account](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/how-it-works#address) or an [access key](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/access-keys). Tempo verifies three kinds of signature onchain: * **secp256k1:** Ethereum wallets use it. * **P-256:** Device keys and P-256 private keys use it. * **WebAuthn P-256:** Passkeys use it. The kind of key decides where it can live and how the holder approves. Its role on the account decides what it can do. ## Methods [Passkeys](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/authentication/passkeys): The customer approves with Face ID or a fingerprint. Synced across their devices, and tied to your domain. [Device Keys](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/authentication/device-keys): A key the customer's phone, computer, or browser creates and can't export, for payments without a prompt. [Private Keys](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/authentication/private-keys): A key in a wallet, a wallet provider, or your KMS or HSM, for servers, treasury approvers, and backups. ## Combining Methods Each key joins the account in one of two roles: | Role | What it does | | --- | --- | | Signer | Approves with a weight. A transaction runs once the approving signers' weights reach the account's [threshold](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/policies/signing-thresholds). | | [Access key](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/access-keys) | Pays alone within its limits. Never counts toward the threshold. | Add device keys and server payout keys as access keys. A signer has no spending limit. :::warning **Multiple signers arrive with the [T14 network upgrade](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/protocol/upgrades/t14).** Until T14 activates, an account with several signers and a threshold runs only on the [Tempo Accounts devnet](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/create#connect-to-the-devnet), not on mainnet or testnet, and may still change. ::: Several weighted signers on one account need a configurable account. Tempo has no override. Your app or a provider can approve only with the signers it holds. Set weights so no one but the customer reaches the threshold alone. [Recommended signer setups](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/policies/signing-thresholds#recommended-signer-setups) gives the weights for customer accounts, embedded wallets, and treasuries. ## Related [Signing Thresholds](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/policies/signing-thresholds): Covers signer weights and the threshold a transaction must reach. [Access Keys](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/accounts/access-keys): Covers keys that pay alone within limits, expiry, and scopes. [Configurable Accounts](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/development/configurable-accounts): Covers accounts with several weighted signers and a threshold. [Multisig Signatures](https://tempo.xyz/developers/docs/development/configurable-accounts#multisig-signature-format): Covers the signature format for a transaction that several signers approve.