Business

SCA EXEMPTIONS ARE A MERCHANT’S BEST FRIEND, BUT THEY DON’T COME WITHOUT COMPLICATIONS

Published

2 years ago

March 19, 2021

admin

Shagun Varshney, Product Manager at Signifyd

When it comes to online commerce, much of Europe is living in a new payment regulation era — and the UK will soon follow.

It’s an era of two-factor authentication, exemptions, step-ups, transaction legs that are either in or out — and a more secure ecommerce shopping experience for consumers. Polling and industry anecdotes indicate that for many, SCA, which stands for Strong Customer Authentication, might as well mean Something Causing Anxiety. Merchants and consumers know something is changing, but exactly what, for whom and when, well, that’s a little unclear.

But there are ways that UK merchants and brands can embrace SCA by 14 September, the date on which the regulation will be fully enforced.

A quick refresher: SCA is required under the sweeping digital payment regulation known as PSD2. It is already being enforced through much of Europe. It is meant to better secure online checkout by requiring that shoppers be authenticated by two of three methods: something the user knows (such as a one-time passcode), something the user has (such as a mobile device) and something the user is (such as a fingerprint, facial recognition, typing behaviour).

The key to getting SCA right is to conduct the required two-factor identification without adding inconvenience to the checkout process. And that starts with understanding the exemptions and exclusions contained in the requirement and how those elements best apply to your particular business. Wisely deploying exemptions will allow a significant percentage of transactions to be exempted from the regulation — under the right conditions.

As you’ve probably guessed, establishing those conditions has become more important than ever. It’s also important to note that while exemptions and exclusions, which we’ll get to shortly, benefit merchants and their customers, control over whether they are available to a merchant is largely in the hands of a merchant’s payment service provider or a cardholder’s issuing bank.

In general exemptions — and their close cousins, exclusions — are available when an order meets certain conditions:

The order is low risk and low value.
The merchant and its bank have maintained a low fraud rate and the transaction meets certain value limits.
The transaction is considered “out of scope.” The list for these exclusions includes phone or email orders, prepaid card transactions and transactions when the acquiring bank or the issuing bank are outside the European Economic Area — or “one leg out transactions.

One other exemption is available, but a consumer’s bank must agree to allow it in order for it to be applied. It’s called the “Trusted Beneficiary” exemption. It can be applied when a consumer expressly tells the bank that issued their credit card that they don’t want extra scrutiny applied when they are buying from specific merchants. Again, the issuing bank can refuse to allow the exemption.

Similar to exemptions, “out of scope” transactions can also be processed without SCA. In some instances SCA simply does not apply. Think phone or email orders, prepaid card transactions and transactions when the acquiring bank or the issuing bank are outside the European Economic Area (this is where the “one leg out” phase is used). In the case of a merchant-initiated transaction, a subscription for instance, SCA needs to be performed only once to authenticate the buyer.

Visa, among others, has provided a specific list of exemptions and exclusions.

It becomes evident, scouring the Visa list, that while helpful, exemptions are also limited. Consider low-value transactions for instance. It’s great that transactions below €30 can bypass SCA. But what if you sell jewellery, luxury watches, electronics, high fashion, home goods, sporting goods, groceries, auto parts or sell in any of the nearly limitless verticals that offer products or groups of products upon which consumers typically spend more than €30 on?

Oh and there is a catch: Even low value transactions need to undergo SCA periodically — every five transactions under €30 must undergo SCA, as must an order once the cumulative value of low-value transaction reaches €100.

Or consider allow-listing. First off, a consumer needs to be aware there is such a thing. A merchant might add a notice at checkout suggesting, “If you like shopping with us, ask your issuing bank to allow-list our store.” All of which leaves a consumer saying, “Ask my what to do what now?”

And even if consumer consciousness-raising is a success, think about the bank that issued the consumer’s credit card. By agreeing to allow-list a merchant, the bank takes on liability for any fraudulent orders. So in one stroke, the bank allows the order to bypass increased scrutiny and agrees to be on the hook for orders that are not legitimate. That’s not a lot of incentive, to put it mildly.

None of which is to say that exemptions should be ignored. Exemptions are a powerful way to provide a seamless experience for customers. When an exemption is approved, the customer doesn’t have to worry about the transaction being stepped up by requiring two of the three SCA authentication methods. And so, retailers want to be in a position to take advantage of exemptions.

One thing that quickly becomes obvious when planning a robust exemption and exclusion strategy is that the starting point for taking advantage of SCA exemptions is to ensure that your enterprise is a solid citizen when it comes to preventing fraudulent sales. Take the most obvious case: In order to take full advantage of the low-risk transaction exemption, a merchant needs to keep its fraud rate below an exceedingly low .01%. That clears the way for purchases under €500. Exemptions for purchases under €250 and under €100 are also available for merchants with fraud rates of .06% and .13% respectively.

It’s important, then, to include a powerful fraud protection solution in your overall SCA strategy. A low fraud rate is vital to securing exemptions and exemptions are vital to producing a top-flight customer experience.

Embracing a modern machine-learning fraud solution that sifts fraudulent from legitimate orders in an instant while seamlessly scaling does far more for a merchant than simply ensuring it can use exemptions. Yes, doing away with SCA is one of the best things about exemptions, but it is also one of the worst things about exemptions. Sure, an exemption eliminates the potential friction added to the buying journey by two-factor authentication, but an exemption also sidelines the extra protection that step-ups provide an online seller.

A constantly learning automated fraud solution with a financial guarantee provides the protection needed to ensure good orders are shipped and fraudulent orders are declined.

Merchants and brands will want to be able to confidently pursue an aggressive exemption strategy without worrying about new vulnerabilities that fraud rings will look to exploit. Consider the irony of working so hard to maintain a low fraud rate in order to take advantage of exemptions, only to have those exemptions ultimately lead to a higher fraud rate.

As with many things in commerce, it’s best to take a holistic view when you’re considering how SCA and its exemptions fit into your entire risk management plan.

Business

How app usage can help brands increase their online revenues and customer retention

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2023

editorial

Arunabh Madhur, Regional VP & Head Business EMEA at SHAREit Group

Brands are continuing to invest heavily in the e-commerce market despite current market and economic challenges – and they need to. Indeed, the current global e-commerce market is valued at around $5.5 trillion. Further to that, estimates show that online retail sales will reach $6.7 trillion by the end of 2023 – and e-commerce making up 22.3% of those sales.

So despite the economic and market climate, businesses must still plan for success and cater to customer demands to make the most of the global e-commerce opportunity.

Mobile apps are key

Mobile apps are now a fundamental component of retail, as they provide customers with a convenient and engaging way to shop from their phones. The past couple of years has been rocket fuel for digital transformation, providing an opportunity for the retail industry to innovate. Whilst global trends continue to point to the user growth of Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, the trends underneath the headlines highlight significant opportunities to drive new customer acquisition, which in turn demands a targeted customer retention strategy from companies.

According to research from Baymard Institute, 69.82% of online shopping carts are abandoned and with demand expected to continue, pressure is growing on retailers to expand current offerings and create personalised experiences to tackle this. One of the big challenges e-commerce companies face, though, is analysing and maximising the behaviour of users, and bringing down the cost of their marketing and engagement against how much is earned through a customer making a purchase.

To meet customer demand, mobile apps offer a variety of features such as push notifications, product recommendations, exclusive discounts and offers, and easy checkout processes, to make the shopping experience easier for customers. By leveraging the power of mobile technology, brands can create an immersive shopping experience tailored specifically to their customer’s needs, and this in turn helps increase customer loyalty, customer return rates, and maximise online revenue.

Re-targeting and re-engaging customers

Brands should focus on re-engaging with returning consumers through a personalised strategy as this can help increase the lifetime value of users, which in turn helps brands bring the cost of their marketing down knowing that brand loyalty has been achieved. According to research from Google and Storyline Strategies study, 72% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand if they offer a personalised experience.

Optimising the online shopping experience is crucial in retaining customers. Today, consumers need a more ‘human’ touch, i.e., smart product suggestions based on buying history & behaviour that helps build a one-to-one relationship between brand and buyer. In particular, push notifications haven’t just enhanced personalisation but also increased app engagement by up to 88%. Push notifications have also proven to get disengaged users back, too, with 65% returning to an app within 30 days of the push notification.

Another strategy to consider is the option of adding buy now pay later (BNPL) options at checkouts for customers. Brands that add the option of financing at the checkout allow customers to spread the cost over time, which according to Klarna has resulted in a 30% increase in checkout conversation rates.

Publisher platforms allow brands to leverage their reach and sticky user base. Especially with open platforms such as SHAREit, which can help e-commerce brands create a strong revenue conversion with higher average order value with unique retargeting and user acquisition solutions. Because users are not just sharing product links, but also sharing e-commerce apps and deals among their community. Users of these publisher platforms are also encouraged to share products and apps through platform activities.

What the future of e-commerce holds for brands

E-commerce is positioning itself as a key facet in retail, and its future. With Advancements in technology, customers can access various products and services worldwide through their smartphones – making shopping more accessible than ever. Brands must put consumers at the heart of everything they do, like never before. Offering incentives and payment options, personalising customers’ experiences and re-engaging them, as well as targeting new customers, in an effective and un-intrusive way, are all ways in which they can influence purchasing decisions and improve retention figures.

Business

Does the middle market have a financial edge?

Published

2 days ago

March 22, 2023

editorial

Ilija Ugrinic, Commercial Solutions Director at Proactis

Companies tend to look up the ladder when searching for ways to improve efficiency and business performance. What are larger competitors, or others outside their industry, doing right that they can learn from and implement?

What smart technologies or bright ideas do they have that could create efficiencies for them, too?

As we enter yet another likely volatile year for business, punctuated by recession, should businesses continue to only look up? And could the approach of a slightly smaller business offer more of a competitive edge?

Large corporates tend to pioneer innovation in automation by simple virtue of the resources they have. Home to transformation directors and departments, with the ability to implement large overarching software systems, they pave the way for others and are often the first to digitise their source-to-pay cycle at pace.

Ilija Ugrinic, Commercial Solutions Director at Proactis

While growing businesses understand the merits of full automation, implementing it is often too expensive and it doesn’t bring the rapid realisation of benefits that they need. They need to consider what will bring them the biggest return on investment – and the reality is that those in the middle market don’t necessarily need all the elements of an ‘all-doing’ piece of software. What’s more, without dedicated personnel to project manage a transition, they frequently lack the currency of time to be able to comfortably transform working practices, and take staff with them on the journey, without taking resource from other areas of the business.

For SMEs, digital transformation has never been quite as seismic a shift. Instead, they tend to take a modular approach, employing digital solutions only for particular areas of their finance department, where they need them. This has never been a particularly strategic move. Rather, for a growing business that values quick results and watches their outgoings with greater scrutiny than their larger counterparts, it’s something that suits them better. A modular approach also comes with very little disruption and can be implemented relatively seamlessly into their existing organisational setups.

But while growing businesses are opting for a modular approach because it’s the most cost and time effective option for them, the benefits go far beyond that. The beauty of a modular approach is that it is agile. The last three years – with pandemics, an increasingly challenging climate and shifting geopolitical tensions impacting our global economy – have only served to remind us of how suddenly, and drastically, a business landscape can change. The companies that have weathered the storm are those that have reacted and adapted quickly – those that have been capable of changing the way they do things with little impact on day-to-day operations. A modular approach can offer just that.

Businesses using modular finance technology can integrate small solutions that sync up with the rest of their processes, quickly and seamlessly – and these systems can be integrated into their existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), too. There’s no restriction of a monolithic or aging piece of software either – finance teams can add and update small solutions to their daily operations without the upheaval of having to replace or update large IT infrastructures or wider working practices within the business to accommodate the new software.

Unrestricted by entrenched and hard-to-change systems, the speed with which SMEs are able to react to market changes is miles ahead. A prompt software add-on to manage risk, or create a quick fix in response to a market shift, can be virtually a knee-jerk reaction. SME’s abilities to bend and flex to today’s world efficiently is seeing them reap the benefits of a modular approach. It’s lean, it’s fast and it’s facilitating their growth with a strong competitive edge. And as some of these companies’ growth propels them into the large corporate sphere, they’re choosing to keep a modular approach to finance. It will certainly be interesting to watch those middle-sized companies which grow to the extent that they find themselves competing in the same space. With no financial remodelling to assume a large ‘all-doing’ piece of software, they’ll be competing against their counterparts with completely different tools in their arsenal.

With technology, working life and business needs continuing to change day to day, we have another year ahead of us that will see companies running to keep pace with each other – and fast-growing companies’ approach to finance could be the silver bullet that enables them to catch up with, and even take on, big enterprises. It might just give them a competitive edge against large corporates in these turbulent times.