• BT recommends confirming online payments via the BT Pay app •

Starting January 2021, online card transactions made on websites or in apps within the European Economic Area must be authenticated under higher security standards in line with the revised European Payment Services Directive (PSD2), using two security elements. Banca Transilvania has prepared the ground for its customers.

Safer online transactions

Authentication using the security elements required under the directive, part of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), means identifying customers who pay online through two of the following three categories: something only the customer knows, such as a password; something only the customer has, such as their phone; and something that confirms the customer’s identity, such as a fingerprint or facial recognition.

“Online payments have become both a habit and a necessity, and keeping them secure is a priority for banks. Security needs to be combined with the best possible payment experience so that shopping online is fast and easy. Through the BT Pay app, users have their card details for online payments and can authenticate simply using their fingerprint, Face ID or their phone’s unlock method. Beyond confirming online payments, they can also check their account balance and transactions, make payments, transfer money and even withdraw cash from ATMs.” – Gabriela Nistor, Deputy CEO Retail Banking, Banca Transilvania.

Ways to confirm online card payments:

• Through the BT Pay super app, using biometric authentication — fingerprint, facial recognition or the phone’s unlock method. For every online payment, customers instantly receive a notification on their phone to confirm the transaction using that unlock method. The bank launched this feature in July this year to prepare ahead of these European requirements and as an additional option for remote banking. Over five months, there were more than 4 million authentications via BT Pay. The app can be downloaded free of charge from Google Play or the App Store. 
• By entering two passwords: a one-time password received by SMS, and a password chosen by the customer, which must be changed every 90 days. This option will be available from January 2021.

There will also be online payments for which SCA will not apply, meaning customers will not be asked to take extra steps to confirm them, based on the customer’s payment history and behaviour, the websites where the payments are made, or if they are recurring payments such as subscriptions, or low-value amounts.  

Banca Transilvania | Communications & Public Relations

About Banca Transilvania

Banca Transilvania is Romania’s largest bank and the main financier of the economy. Founded 27 years ago, BT has close to 18% market share, 3.2 million clients, 3 business lines, more than 9,000 employees, next-generation digital banking solutions and 500 branches in 180 towns. It is the only Romanian banking brand in the Brand Finance Banking 500 (2020) ranking. Beyond banking, Banca Transilvania aims to have a positive impact in Romania, for people, businesses and the environment alike. For more details, visit www.bancatransilvania.ro, the BT Blog and the bank’s profile on Twitter.