Customers should expect changes in the
way they shop online from today, in a move to combat online
fraud.
The changes are a result of new Strong
Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements, a set of rules that
will change how you confirm your identity when making online
purchases.
While SCA rules have applied to a
small number of transactions for some time, the proportion of
transactions for which SCA requirements apply has been steadily
increasing since the start of this year as merchants and Payment
Service Providers (PSPs) readied to meet the enforcement date,
when all transactions must be
SCA-compliant.
Today’s deadline comes almost three
years after the SCA requirements were announced in September
2019. As increasing amounts of
purchases are being made digitally, it is hoped SCA will help reduce fraud and better protect customers and their
money when shopping online.
Customers will now be asked to prove
their identity when making a purchase, by confirming two of the
following three ‘factors’:
In practice, this could mean customers
are asked to verify a purchase via text message, receiving a
passcode which they are then prompted to enter on screen. Other
confirmations could include answering an automated phone call to
your landline or mobile, or through an app on your
smartphone.
Some types of transactions are exempt
from strong customer authentication, meaning customers may not
always be asked to complete extra security steps. These may be
purchases deemed ‘low-risk’ of fraudulent activity, such as when
buying low-cost items, or repeated purchases such as
subscriptions.
Retailers are ready for the change,
having been preparing their systems for many months to process
these extra security checks. Successful roll out of the new
regulations will also require banks to be prepared for the
changes.
Tom Ironside, Director of Business
& Regulation at the BRC,
said:
“Retailers have been working hard to
prepare for the Strong Customer Authentication requirements,
ensuring online purchases are both as safe and easy as possible.
The BRC and our members have worked with suppliers to ensure
multiple fraud checks are performed behind the scenes and any
additional friction is kept to a minimum. Customers should be
reassured that buying online has never been
safer.”
