payment service directive (PSD)

Since September 2019, the European Payment Service Directive(PSD) has replaced the indexed transaction number( iTAN). With the PSD Directive and specifically with PSD2, the European Union wants to make payment transactions more secure for consumers. Under the PSD Directive, transaction numbers must be generated dynamically in online banking.

The Payment Service Directive (PSD) dates back to 2007 and is intended to make electronic payment transactions in online banking and online shopping safer and faster. The second edition of the PSD directive, PSD2, will make online transactions at the point of sale( POS) more transparent and secure. The directive creates the same rules for all payment transactions in the SEPA payment area.

In the PSD scheme, account access is governed by two-factor authentication( 2FA) or even three-factor authentication (3FA). In the 2FA procedure, two of three factors must be confirmed for authentication. This can be the personal identification number, the password, a passphrase or a secret question combined with a biometric feature such as a fingerprint or voice recognition.