SCA

What is Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)?

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is one of the key requirements introduced by the PSD2 regulation. Its purpose is to ensure the security of digital payments made by customers in an online business.

Its main objective is to verify the identity of the customer during an online transaction, guaranteeing that the person making the payment is truly the holder of the account or card being used.

How does Strong Customer Authentication work?

SCA is mandatory for both financial institutions and TPPs (Third Party Providers), which must also comply with these rules.
The system verifies the authenticity of the customer using at least two of the following three factors:

• Something they know (a PIN or password)

• Something they have (their mobile phone or another electronic device)

• Something they are (fingerprint or facial recognition)

By combining these elements, SCA significantly reduces fraud attempts in electronic transactions and increases consumer trust in digital commerce.

More information

If you want to learn more, here’s a related article from our blog:

PSD2 – The essential payment regulation in Europe