Banks warn card rules to hit online shopping

BRITAIN’S biggest banks have warned online shoppers that their cards could be declined when new payment rules come into force next month, stopping millions of pounds of transactions each day.

In new moves to prevent fraudsters using stolen credit and debit card details, people will be asked to take extra steps to confirm their identity – such as entering a one-time passcode sent by text, a pin number or being required to use a card reader or log into a banking app.

The extra checks from March 14 will be applied particularly on more expensive items.

Experts have warned that many firms are unprepared and could see a ‘significant’ drop in the number of people completing their online check-out.

HSBC has told customers: ‘Some online retailers may not be ready to ask for these extra checks. This means your online card payment could be declined, even if there’s no issue with your account or your card.’

Barclays has also emailed its clients warning they might start to see transactions declined.

Ian Corfield, chief commercial officer at NewDay, which issues around one sixth of the UK’s credit cards, said ‘tens of millions of pounds’ of transactions could fail every day if businesses miss the deadline.

Some card issuers started declining transactions in January to get ready for the March deadline.