What is SCA?
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is a new regulation affecting businesses in the EU that’s designed to help reduce fraud and increase security for online transactions. When SCA goes into effect, additional steps may be required in order for you to accept online and in-app payments from your customers.
SCA is expected to go into effect on September 14, 2019.
How does this affect my business?
When taking a payment, your customer may be required to provide additional information to verify that it’s them making the payment.
Customers may be asked to:
Provide a unique password, pin, or answer a test question
Prove that they are making the transaction on their personal device, phone, or laptop
Provide a fingerprint, voice sample, or pass a face recognition check
A transaction may be declined if the customer fails to satisfy two of these criteria, and the criteria may vary from transaction to transaction.
How does Setmore help me prepare for SCA?
While Setmore is not a payment processor, the Setmore platform does integrate with Stripe and Square to empower you to take customer payments online and in person. We’ve provided the guidance below to help clarify which transactions will be impacted, depending on which payment integration you use with Setmore:
Setmore + Square integration: Manual card entry transactions through the Setmore web app will be restricted. This means you won’t be able to take payments through your calendar. We recommend that you take a cash payment instead, or consider using an external point-of-sale solution.
You’ll still be able to take card payments through the Square integration in the Setmore iOS or Android app.
Customers may continue to pay online via the Booking Page. They will be prompted to complete the additional verification steps outlined above.
---
Setmore + Stripe integration: Manual card entry transactions through the Setmore web app, iOS app, and Android app will be restricted. This means you won’t be able to take payments through your calendar. We recommend that you take a cash payment instead or consider using an external point-of-sale solution.
Customers may continue to pay online via the Booking Page. They will be prompted to complete the additional verification steps outlined above.
For Setmore businesses in the UK that rely on in-person payments, we recommend that you try our Square integration. You’ll still be able to take card payments in person using the Square integration and the Setmore app for iOS or Android.
---
How will I know when manual card entry payments are restricted?
If you are in the EU and subject to SCA regulations, Setmore will display a message indicating that payments are restricted for the current transaction. You may see either of the following warning messages to this effect:
What happens if customers fail the online verification process?
For customers attempting to pay from your Setmore Booking Page, failing verification will result in a Transaction Declined message. If payment is required at the time of booking, the customer may not be able to book with you. When this happens, we suggest that your customer contact you directly in order to book an appointment.
Learn more about SCA
You can learn more about SCA requirements by reading the information published by your business payments provider.