What do new payment regulations
mean for merchants?
What do new payment regulations
mean for merchants?
Recently there has been a global surge in the use of digital payments. As new payment methods become popular, new regulations are needed. But what regulations are changing and what do you need to know?
In recent years, we have seen a global surge in the use of digital payments. Consumers have shifted from physical cash to digital and contactless payments at an unprecedented rate and turned to alternative methods en masse.
For regulators, keeping up with the sheer pace of change has presented a challenge. But around the world, several new regulations are being implemented, many of which will have far-reaching implications for merchants.
Here’s how regulations are changing, and what you need to know:
3D Secure (3DS) 2.2
New rules for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) were introduced in European Union in 2021, requiring merchants to implement 3DS to authenticate payments online. However, issuers and acquirers will soon be required to support the enhanced standard for securing online payments, known as 3DS 2.2. In theory, the new standard has been designed to help merchants to secure more successful sales, with fewer declines and disputed payments. The new specification is optimised for more types of devices — mobile, desktop and games consoles — as well as for in-app payment. Equally, 3DS 2.2 enables merchants to pass more than 100 data elements to card issuers for more intelligent risk scoring. This will dramatically improve risk-based authentication, reducing friction at the checkout for low-risk transactions from trusted customers.
Merchants must now assess the impact of SCA and 3DS 2.2 on their customers and work closely with their payments service provider to maximise the use of exemptions and strive to reduce friction at the checkout.
Cross-Border Payment Regulation 2
In April 2021, the Cross-Border Payment Regulation 2 was implemented in Europe. This increased the number of payments by ensuring that costs remain fair for consumers. The regulation aims to ensure that cross-border payments in euro are not more costly than national transaction in the national currency of a non-euro Member State.
Additionally, the regulation has been designed to increase cost transparency requirements for currency conversion services provided when clients initiate online credit transfers and card-based transactions. Merchants must also introduce transparency requirements to increase consumer awareness of the charges associated with cross border payments.
“In theory, the new standard has been designed to help merchants to secure more successful sales, with fewer declines and disputed payments”
Changes in Latin America
It’s no secret that eCommerce has soared but, in few places, has the surge so strongly impacted an economy as in Latin America. This is in part due to the broadening of digital payment use throughout the region and digital payments being the preferred method of purchase.
What once might have seemed a difficult and complex market to enter now presents a rich opportunity for businesses outside Latin America, especially online merchants. This has sparked the move towards a new culture of regulated digital payments in the continent but understanding regulatory practice can be hard.
2023 is likely to be a critical year for changing regulations. By choosing the right payments service provider like PagoNxt with an established presence ‘on the ground’ and the regulatory requirements in place, merchants can navigate complexities and nuances.
