Payment glossary

This glossary contains general terms used in the payments industry and should help you demystify the world of payments.

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)

SCA is mandated in PSD2 as a way to make online payments and online banking transactions more secure.

An authentication is considered strong if a shopper is able to provide two out of the following factors:

• Something the shopper has.
• Something the shopper knows.
• Something the shopper is.

For example, a shopper is required to supply a one-time authentication code received on their phone (something the shopper has), and a password that only the shopper knows (something the shopper knows).