UK online shoppers will complete more identification checks prior to buying products from Monday to reduce fraud levels.
The Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), which is the biggest change to debit and credit card payments since chip and pin was implemented 16 years ago, will cause more declined payments.
Customers will prove identity via two of three ‘factors’: something they know (password), something they have (phone) or something they are, for example, a fingerprint or facial recognition.
Buyers could be sent one-time passcodes by text or may have to answer automated phone calls in an attempt to reduce the £376mln lost to online fraud in 2020, the Guardian said.
SCA “is an important tool in the fight against fraud, adding an additional layer of protection when people pay online using a card”, a spokesperson for the banking and finance industry body, UK Finance, said.
Just 25% of online purchases will require further verification with ‘low risk’ transactions including cheap items or repeated purchases to be exempt.
Tom Ironside, director of business and regulation at the British Retail Consortium, said: “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.”