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10 Jan 2024

In the face of the escalating threat of loan fee fraud, the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) is urging its members to heed the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) recent guidance...

9 Jan 2024

Canal boat record store Rubber Ducky Records is back on the water after it sank last April, ruining over 1,000 vinyl records and a stow of music equipment stored on...

9 Jan 2024

While mass-market players continue to dominate the UK retail industry, research by Geek Retreat shows that 15% of Brits have set up their own business in the past ten years, and of these,...

8 Jan 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association has said 2024 is anticipated to be a challenging period for shop keepers as economic challenges are still set to bite.

2 Jan 2024

Hudjo is the first online marketplace that lets cyclists park with locals, which relieves the anxiety of parking your bike. 

20 Dec 2023

The ActSmart office will be open as usual (9am-5pm) for the majority of the Christmas period, with some exceptions.

19 Dec 2023

Bira's CEO, Andrew Goodacre, took the spotlight on BBC Breakfast this week and later spoke with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, shedding light on the rise in retail crime and shop theft,...

18 Dec 2023

Dress shop Pocket Watch & Petticoats in Trinity Street has been crowned the winner in Cambridge BID’s Christmas window competition.

18 Dec 2023

In the age of online shopping, the pursuit of the best deals during the festive season is increasingly common. However, as consumers flock to virtual marketplaces, cybercriminals are seizing the...

18 Dec 2023

Fresh evidence about the increasing problem of thefts from shops has been revealed amid a warning that organised shoplifting is now among the most common type of crimes against small firms.

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Updated guidance on Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

UK Finance have announced that from 1 June 2021 you must be ready to support Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) if your business accepts online card payments.

If your online checkout for card payments does not meet the new legal requirements for SCA, customers may not be able to buy from you.

Strong Customer Authentication is the way your bank or payment services provider verifies your identity or validates a specific payment instruction is changing. These changes are designed to reduce the risk of a fraudster pretending to be you to steal your money. Your customers' checkout experience will be different, they will be required to complete an extra security step to complete the purchase. 

 

What do I need to do now to minimise business disruption?

  1. Contact the organisation responsible for processing your online card payments for help getting ready
  2. Familiarise yourself with SCA and understand the impact on your customers' checkout experience
  3. Update and test your checkout processes well in advance of 1 June 2021 to minimise your customers' online card payments from being declined

The benefits of SCA:

✓ Reduced fraudulent transactions - reducing your losses
✓ Improved customer satisfaction - confidence and loyalty
✓ Shift in liability - from you to your customer's card provider
 

What could happen if I'm not ready?

X Loss of online sales - customers abandoning or being declined at checkout
X Loss of customers - to more secure competitors
X Reduced customer satisfaction - due to increased friction and payments being declined 
 
 

Finding the best card processing service for you

The ACT and ActSmart have partnered with two card processing partners to ensure the we can provide the best solution for all business.
 
We recommend Global Payments for established businesses with medium to high card turnover and Paya Card Services for new and smaller businesses with lower card volumes.
 
To find out more about which service is best for your business please visit the ActSmart site here or ACT site here.

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