The payments industry is constantly evolving, sometimes to add a more convenient way of paying and sometimes to make payments safer.
On 14th September 2019, the second iteration of the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) came into force. The most important new feature of this EU legislation is increased security of payments using Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). SCA involves the use of dynamic passwords, biometrics (e.g. fingerprints, iris or voice recognition) and increased controls on how contactless card transactions are managed. You may have already seen a few of these measures being introduced by some of your other providers.
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
SCA helps you by reducing the risk of fraud in electronic transactions and enhancing the protection of your data. This also applies to online payments, where users are asked to enter one-time passwords (OTP) or to approve transactions in an app.
How does it work?
SCA uses 2 out of the 3 security elements (factors) detailed below whenever you need to be authenticated. These ‘factors’ include:
- Knowledge - something only you know (password, PIN etc.)
- Possession - something only you have (your mobile etc.)
- Inherence - something only you are (fingerprint, face recognition etc.)
When will I be authenticated?
SCA will be required prior to the moment your total spend of contactless transactions exceeds £200 since the last SCA event (eg: the last time you logged in to the RingPay App).
Approving transactions
If you opt in to receive transaction notifications, we will send you a notification for every transaction from £170, warning you that you're reaching the SCA spend limit.
What do I need to do?
You will need to validate yourself by logging in to the RingPay app using your password, authentication code or finger print/facial recognition.
What will happen if I don’t authenticate?
If you don’t authenticate prior to the threshold being reached, the system will not be able to process your contactless transactions and you will be declined at point of sale. This is to protect you in the event that you are unaware your ring is lost or stolen.