Systems and methods for centralized authentication of financial transactions

Disclosed are systems and methods for centralized authentication of financial transactions. An authentication server receives, from a client device, information for a financial transaction. In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, the authentication server executes in a kernel-based environment at least one authentication step based on the information. For example, in some implementations, the authentication server generates a PIN block and transmits the PIN block to a financial gateway, along with a request for the financial transaction. Notably, the client device does not need to perform the authentication steps executed by the authentication server, such as generating the PIN block for example. This can enhance security of the transaction system because information such as a terminal key used to generate the PIN block remains centralized and not on a client device where it could possibly be stolen by a criminal.