Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is a new requirement which aims to add extra layers of security to electronic payments. This comes in the form of an extra verification page during online checkouts, such as Verified By Visa, Mastercard Security Code and others.

SCA will apply to the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom, and is likely to continue to apply in the UK after the Brexit transition period. It will require banks to perform additional checks when consumers make payments to confirm their identity. To do this, banks may ask their card holder for a combination of two forms of identification at checkout.

Examples include:

1. Knowledge of something they know (eg. PIN code, password)

2. Possession of something they have (eg. mobile phone, passcode app)

3. Inherence of biometrics (eg. fingerprint, facial recognition)