Online fraud remains a serious problem for banks and retailers, with UK victims losing £190 000 per day, an increase of 24% over the last 6 months.
In response, online retailers and banks have started to implement a new security layer call Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) – an additional authentication system that will require payment providers to provide an extra form of verification if they want to spend more than £28 in a single transaction.
The additional forms of verification will include one-time passwords, sent to your mobile phone, as well as thumbprints, voice recognition, and PIN input on contactless payments or mobile wallets.
SCA originated from an EU Directive created to combat cyber-fraud across the continent, with the original roll-out date due to be 14 September.
However, the Financial Conduct Authority has now pushed back implementation until March 2021 to give providers more time to effect the changes. This came after retailers and banks lobbied Government, saying that the September 2019 date was unrealistic and would cause significant disruption to the online transactional space.
There is still an expectation that providers will implement the changes in a staggered approach, and online users should expect to see these new measures more and more with their online banks and shops.