Originally written by Iain McDougall on Small Business
What is Strong Customer Authentication?
SCA or “Strong Customer Authentication” is a major piece of e-commerce regulation that is being introduced across Europe on September 14 2019. From this date, every time a consumer buys something online that costs over €30, simply plugging their details once will no longer be enough. Instead, they’ll need to additionally confirm their identity by something they know (a PIN or password), something they have (such as a smartphone), or something they are (biometric facial features or a fingerprint). This is known as two-factor authentication and has been around in various forms for a while – think about those situations where putting your username and password isn’t enough, for example when you’re sent a six-digit code to input via SMS.
In real terms, however, this means that from September more than 300 million ordinary European consumers will regularly have to change the way they buy online, introducing an extra layer of friction at the checkout for everyday transactions.
SCA will mean all European shoppers will have to double authenticate all online payments over €30 – having profound implications for how businesses handle online transactions. It’s set to be big as GDPR,

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