Passenger fully SCA compliant ahead of upcoming deadline

Strong Consumer Authentication (SCA) became European law under the revised Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) in 2019. SCA is intended to align existing regulation with advancements in electronic payment processing by requiring two-factor identity authentication to make transactions more secure.

The change to European law appeared seemingly out of left-field, with some retailers, banks and (especially) customers reportedly unprepared. By March 2022 (after delaying the SCA implementation date in recognition of challenges facing the industry), UK retailers must also be ready to abide by the two-factor identification requirements.

This was not a surprise to Passenger, who ensured that all their apps and web-based e-commerce were fully SCA compliant by July 2020, with minimal changes to the user experience.

Being at the forefront of security and e-commerce development lets Passenger remain focused on delivering the exceptional user experience that separates them from competitors, while protecting operator customers’ e-commerce revenues.

Shane de Jager, Senior Software Engineer on the Passenger Commerce team said “Being fully prepared for new regulations means peace of mind – not just for our customers but for the team here. Having SCA support in place now means that when it is enforced, payments will continue to work seamlessly. Some banks are already using SCA – for example, Monzo – so their users will already be familiar with the two-factor authentication process and it will give them confidence when they see it in place when purchasing tickets through Passenger apps.

Now, our Commerce team is already focused on our next innovation – bringing discount codes to apps and websites, giving operators the ability to launch flexible promotions simply and easily through Passenger Cloud and drive campaigns encouraging new ridership”.

SCA security underpins mobile payments and contactless transactions, which for ease of use and in response to Coronavirus safety measures, has become the preferred payment method for the majority of journeys. Finding the balance of security and convenience is hugely important to gaining and keeping user trust, and that’s why Passenger Premium app authentication requires just a single touch to approve a transaction.