The European Commission has announced that merchants will be granted no further time to prepare for Strong Customer Authentication, meaning that the current deadline of 31st December 2020 stands, according to Robbie MacDiarmid of CMPSI.
Following the Financial Conduct Authority’s announcement of a delay to 14th September 2021 for the UK, merchants across Europe had hoped for a similar reprieve from the EBA and European Commission.
The impact of COVID-19 on SCA preparations has been significant, prompting many in the payments industry to call for additional time to allow merchants to re-focus efforts on SCA, after the disruption caused by the pandemic.
During this tumultuous period, merchants have needed to focus on survival and revenue driving opportunities. As a result, there has been an internal shift of focus to ensuring their online ecommerce is working, as well as governments mandating access for vulnerable people – which has naturally taken up IT resource.
The FCA in the UK granted an additional six months following successful campaigning for a delay by merchants, merchant advocates and representatives from the wider payments industry. This additional time is estimated to prevent EUR 17 billion in lost sales for online retailers, at a time when the online channel has become vital to survival for many merchants.
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