Strong customer authentication, SCA, is part of the EU’s revised directive on payment services, PSD2. It introduces additional security steps for card payments within the European economic area. Below, the questions are grouped into two categories to highlight what SCA means generally, how it affects diners.
General information about SCA
This section explains what SCA is, where it applies, and when it took effect. It covers the broad requirements and timeline without focusing on specific user or diner actions.
SCA stands for strong customer authentication. It’s a requirement of the EU revised directive on payment services on payment service providers within the European economic area. All customers facing card payments will be subject to SCA safeguards.
SCA is not specific for ResDiary, but it is consistent across all merchants.
SCA functionality was released to all diaries on August 2019, but became effective on the 14th of September 2019.
Impact on diners
The following covers what customers may experience when making bookings and payments. It includes authentication requirements, how payments and stored cards are handled, and what diners will see if a payment is declined.
Customers might be asked to further validate their identity when making the payment, known as 3D secure 2.
SCA does not affect ResDiary users internally.
Stripe can hold card details up to 90 days from the booking date.
There has been no functionality change on our diner landing page, however the user interface has changed slightly to reflect the SCA requirements.
When your bank card is rejected during the booking phase, you'll obtain the following message:
Transaction failed: Unfortunately the transaction for this booking has failed. Money was not taken from your account nor were your card details stored. Please check the card details you have entered are correct, and that your account has sufficient funds if a payment has been requested by the venue. If the issue persists please contact your bank for assistance.
📌 Note: Connect your diary to Stripe when you are ready and have read our general Stripe FAQs.