Managing online payments successfully is vital to managing your ecommerce store.
Since March 2022, you may have noticed a change in your online payments: an extra step of validation using your phone at the checkout.
These may feel like a hassle, but these checks will go a long way in helping keep your money safe. This system is called Secure Customer Authentication (SCA) and banks across Europe have been working together over the past few years to get this right.
But what is actually going on, and what does this mean for you and your customers?
The Problem
With an increase of online purchases and e-commerce websites over recent years, including of course due to the Covid 19 lockdown, online shops and banks needed a new and secure payment system.
In physical shops we use either Chip and Pin, or biometric validation (when using app-based payment through Apple Pay and Google Pay). Online however, you only needed a debit or credit card to make a payment. This led to stolen cards being used for an online purchases, and banks had to take the side of their customer in any disputed payments, as they could not prove who entered the card details.
Back in 2001 banks attempts to solve this issue through technology called 3D Secure. You may remember systems such as Verified by Visa, which required you to remember a long password that was different to all your other banking passwords. Every bank had its own approach, and while some merged neatly with the payment process, others directed customers away from the shopping cart, to a differently styled banking webpage, which they may not have trusted.
What Changed?
Starting in 2019, the new kid on the block was ready roll out, 3D Secure 2.0. This was a system designed in the era of the smartphone, and switched out the hard to remember passwords for something that you always have close at hand. By either sending a text to your phone, or getting you to log in and validate via your normal and trusted online banking app, the system verifies that it really is you making the secure online payment.
In March 2022 UK banks unanimously switched to the new payment validation system.
The new version is also designed to be much more efficient and uniform, with the secure online payment process made to look and feel the same, no matter which bank you use. Payments also became a lot easier – Visa estimate that 3D Secure 2 will reduce basket abandonment by 70% and speed up checkout by 85%.
What does this mean for my eCommerce shop?
By using 3D Secure 2.0 at checkout, you are safe in the knowledge that your customers’ payment details are held securely. By knowing a customer had access to their payment card, and mobile device at checkout, it is much easier for banks to investigate any payment disputes. As 3D Secure 2.0 uses an on-page integration, you should no longer get calls from customers who are confused or worried about the web page or pop up that your checkout page will have directed them to.
What do I have to do?
Your payment provider should have contacted you to inform you of the technical changes required, or your ecommerce website provider may have made changes on your behalf. Here at DotGO we worked with Stripe to ensure the switch to Secure Customer Authorisation was ready behind the scenes in advance, so it was painless for our clients.
Do you have any concerns that your current ecommerce website is not using validated payments?
Our team at DotGo is always happy to work with you to ensure your customers’ transactions are safe and secure.
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