Providing robust payment security is a priority as we protect our customers against fraud. Our commitment to ‘Strong Customer Authentication’ is at the forefront of measures we have in place to ensure industry standards are met and exceeded, safeguarding customer payment details.

The Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) initiative is part of the Payment Services Directive being implemented across Europe following the steady increase in payment fraud for nearly a decade. It’s designed to reduce fraud by making electronic payments more secure. The initiative increases payment security by using two factor authentication - simply, it means the customer needs to provide two of the following when making an online payment:

• Something they know – such as a password or pin

• Something they have – such as a one-time code supplied to a mobile phone

• Something they are – such as a fingerprint

Premium Credit has seen the introduction of SCA as an opportunity to align payment journeys for customers whilst at the same time meeting the latest regulatory requirements.

We implemented a fully compliant solution that met industry standards well ahead of the July 2021 deadline set in Ireland.

To prepare for this directive, we partnered with a leading payment gateway partner who processes over 600 billion electronic payments transactions a year, and who is fully compliant with the latest Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) regulations ensuring our brokers’ customer data and money remains safe and secure.

Duncan Gray, Premium Credit’s Chief Technology Officer comments: “It’s of paramount importance to keep customer data entrusted to us safe and secure, and our investment in technology is a reflection of the lengths we continue to go to achieve this. We are pleased to have incorporated ‘Strong Customer Authentication’ ahead of the regulator’s deadline ensuring the customer journey remains a smooth, protected and compliant process.”

Ger Shannon

Managing Director, Premium Credit Ireland