Changes to payment rules may impact e-commerce experience

Thursday, November 24, 2016 - 11:46 by Mike Price

New legislation proposed by the European Union may mean that the process of buying products via safe shopping online becomes a little lengthier in order to strengthen security and lessen the likelihood of payment card fraud being committed, according to BBC News.

The plan is to force any transaction involving more than £8.50 to require users to re-enter their login details. Critics claim this could reduce the overall convenience of the experience, even if it does mean that more sites will be able to offer resilient, safe shopping online, that cannot be so easily exploited by cybercriminals.

The rise of one click purchases has meant that many consumers are now used to being able to complete a transaction without having to fill out endless forms or even go through a complex checkout process of any kind. This would change if the new rules come into force, which payment card firm, Visa, argued would be a disaster for the industry.

Visa specifically focused on the UK when discussing its complaints about the proposal, stating that because British consumers are especially avid users of e-commerce sites, there is little question that the disruption caused by the additional security requirements would be significant.

Spokesperson, Kevin Jenkins, said that the market could be set back by more than a decade if the legislation is introduced, while also suggesting that it might not even have the desired effect of decreasing card fraud.

Retailers and regulators are constantly struggling to strike the right balance between convenience and security in the online market. Some campaigners believe that two factor authentication should be widely adopted to prevent unlawful activities, while others see this as a hindrance rather than a help and insist that online shopping should be made as simple and painless as possible.