Checkout.com Enhances Authentication Tool to Reduce Abandoned Carts

Full-stack payments company Checkout.com is rolling out enhancements to its authentication product to help online businesses reduce abandoned carts as evolving strong customer authentication (SCA) requirements kick in across Europe.

“With the flurry of work to comply with SCA requirements in the rear view mirror, it’s time for businesses to focus on evolving and optimizing their authentication strategy, and in 2022, the stakes are high,” Checkout.com Product Director Rami Josef said in a blog post on Wednesday (Aug. 17).

Josef added that consumers in Europe had dumped their carts prior to completing their purchases because of additional authentication requirements.

“To put it frankly: sales revenue is at stake,” he said.

Adopted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2019, the new SCA rules took effect in the U.K. in March, PYMNTS reported at the time. The mandates are intended to help protect online shoppers from fraud.

See also: Merchants Risk Losing Customers as New UK SCA Rules Kick Off

Checkout.com’s authentication upgrades give merchants control over their customers’ journeys, offering the option of extending rules-based or dynamic machine learning (ML) authentication strategies. With an open ecosystem, the authentication tool can be used as a standalone solution with other payment processors or as part of Checkout.com’s product suite.

“The intention of this interoperability is to serve as a pragmatic payments partner to our merchants and further support them to maximize their revenues,” Josef said.

Read more: PYMNTS Intelligence: How Behavioral Analytics Can Ensure a Smoother and More Transparent Authentication Experience

Having a multi- or single-payment partner setup can be weighed against pros and cons for each individual business, however, Checkout.com said a multi-provider strategy can often be fragmented and complex when it comes to authentication.

“This can range from challenges surrounding configuring and reconciling data and optimizing different authentication systems to unnecessary resource expenditure, sub-optimal customer experience and missed opportunities,” per the blog post.