Low-value credit card deals may not need 2-step verification

KOLKATA: The Reserve Bank of India has proposed to scrap the mandatory two-stage authentication for certain low-value credit-card transactions. It may set a cap of Rs 2,000 per such transaction where the customer doesn’t have to key in a personal identification number.

The facility will likely be restricted to contact-less cards, or cards that don’t need to be swiped while making the transactions — in this case the data can be read using nearfield communication technology.

The central bank believes that availability of new technologies would protect customers from fraudsters. In draft guidelines published on Friday, the RBI said banks could set lower transaction limits for easier payment rule.

The central bank’s proposal to change the rule comes after it received several requests to scrap the additional factor of authentication. It is aimed at making the transaction process easier for both consumers and merchants while making transactions.

Comments on the proposal could be sent until April 4. For transaction value above the threshold limit of Rs 2,000, PIN or two-stage authentication would still be mandatory. The relaxed rules would not be applicable to ATM transactions irrespective of the transaction value and for cardnot-present transactions.

Earlier, the RBI had said Aadhaar number could be used for the additional-factor of authentication for card-present transactions.