FCA extends deadline for implementing Strong Customer Authentication for e-commerce transactions
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced the extension of its deadline for implementing Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) for e-commerce transactions to 14 March 2022, originally expected 14 September 2021.
The further 6-month extension has been decided to ensure minimal disruption to merchants and consumers and recognise the ongoing challenges facing the industry caused by COVID-19.
The new rules are intended to enhance the security of payments and limit fraud during the authentication process. These rules are set in the Payment Services Regulations and the related technical standards, which apply when a payer:
- initiates an electronic payment transaction
- accesses their payment account online
- carries out any action remotely that may imply a risk of payment fraud
The compliance means that customers will need to provide several different methods of authentication, with methods needed that don’t rely on mobile phones to cater for consumers who don’t have, or won’t want to use one.
