Visa says OTP not needed for ‘routine’ transactions

MUMBAI: Global card network provider Visa aims to phase out the twofactor authentication (2FA) process on routine card transactions during digital checkouts and replace the scrutiny layer with a riskbased prompt, where transactions deemed unusual or risky by banks would be vetted through a One Time Password (OTP) check.

For this, Visa plans to hold discussions with domestic regulators, and its banking partners on how over time the 2FA norms can be relaxed and brought in line with global best practices, a top company executive told ET. This has been highlighted in the California-based network operator’s multi-prong security roadmap for its Asia Pacific markets for enhancing resilience of digital payments. “We think 2FA is important but what we think is even better is using 2FA in a risk-based manner,” said Joe Cunningham, head of risk, Asia Pacific, Visa. “The real growth of our industry is happening through the ecommerce space. To give consumers a wonderful experience some friction needs to be removed.”