What Is Secure Remote Commerce?

Different websites offer a variety of different checkout experiences through which customers must choose their preferred payment method and input their payment details. However, this means that they usually have to re-input the same information many times when shopping on different websites. This can be discouraging for customers, and an overly complicated payment form can cause them to reconsider their purchase and shop elsewhere.

Secure remote commerce is a way to resolve this and improve the customer experience. EMVCo created this solution to address these issues, offering a way for users to have a consistent experience when shopping on different websites. Websites that support SRC remove the need for customers to re-enter their details, reducing abandonment and saving time. Read on to find out what secure remote commerce is and how you can use it.

What does SRC stand for?

What is SRC? This acronym stands for secure remote commerce, which may also be referred to as ‘Click to Pay’. This is a solution offered by EMVCo to improve the checkout experience by reducing the need to re-enter information when making purchases. In addition to this, it is a security solution that can protect against online fraud and hackers.

What is secure remote commerce?

What is SRC, and why is it important? Well, as previously mentioned, secure remote commerce offers customers a consistent experience across different websites by saving their details and reducing the time spent filling in forms. To do this, SRC creates what is known as a ‘virtual payment terminal’, which aims to create a similar experience to physical terminals where the process is the same, regardless of the card that is used.

In addition to the convenience factor, SRC is also an important form of fraud protection. With a growing number of hackers using more and more sophisticated strategies, it’s important to develop technology that can protect against fraud. Secure remote commerce achieves this with a number of factors, including the concept of tokenization. Put simply, this refers to replacing a sensitive data element with a token that represents it, thus providing an extra wall of security that can keep out hackers.

How does secure remote commerce work?

It’s clear that SRC is important for any e-commerce business wanting to keep up with the competition. But how does secure remote commerce work, exactly? The process is complex and requires an in-depth knowledge of coding and data structures to understand fully. However, we’ve broken down the process to give you a basic understanding.

SRC works slightly differently for new and returning customers. When new customers input payment information, they will see the secure remote commerce icon, which may not yet be meaningful for them. When they click on the button, they are taken to a page where they authenticate their card details and then create a personal ID and email address that will be associated with the SRC system. This ID then binds the user to the card information provided. Some of these stages may not be clear to the user, so you should make sure to use clear messaging throughout.

A customer who has already signed up for SRC will be able to click the same icon and will be transferred to the SRC systems. These systems will then determine whether the user’s device is recognised, before returning their payment options to choose between. After selecting their preferred payment method, the details can be input into the checkout.

In this way, SRC helps to streamline the customer experience and reduce the work on their part during the checkout stage. This helps to reduce shopping cart abandonment and can therefore be a great way to boost your sales.

We can help

GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of admin your team needs to deal with when chasing invoices. Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.