The Payments Association releases report about SCA adoption in the UK

The Payments Association has announced a new report, which takes the pulse of the payments industry to determine the status of SCA compliance.

The Payments Association conducted a research programme through in-depth interviews with representatives from international networks, issuers, acquirers, gateways, retailers, technology providers, and trade associations to deliver its new report ‘The Long and Winding Road to SCA: UK Readiness Status and Key Learnings from Europe’.

The study reveals that large ecommerce merchants have been busy implementing EMV 3DS technology to authenticate their customers and are expected to be ready but have been reluctant to be early adopters due to fear of cardholder confusion leading to checkout abandonment. SME merchants however remain an area of concern as many appear not to have taken the necessary actions and so are expected to see an increase in the number of declined transactions in the new year, the report shows.

With this UK deadline for SCA implementation being March 2022, it is vital that all stakeholders focus their attentions on optimising the SCA payments experience, by maximising the use of exemptions, correctly flagging transactions, complying with MIT frameworks, and reviewing how in-app payments are handled.

The industry is planning a sprint ramp-up plan, starting on 18 January, that will see an increasing number of transactions being ‘soft declined’ in escalating phases, in order to ensure all parties are ready by 14 March, the report says. Heightened monitoring and rapid issue resolution will be required during this short time ramp-up period and for the initial months following enforcement.