The European Banking Authority has pushed back the deadline for the migration to Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) standards to 31 December 2020, giving national authorities a 15-month extension to implement the new rules.

Initially scheduled for introduction last month, the EBA in June acknowledged the complexity of the requirements, a lack of preparedness and the potential for a significant impact on consumers, paving the way for some firms, on an "exceptional basis", to get an extension if cleared by national authorities.

Since publishing the edict, some national authorities including the FCA and the Central Bank of Ireland, have announced a delay to the roll out in order to give firms more time to prepare. UK Finance has also recommended a further one-year extension over and above the 31 December 2020 deadline for the hospitality and travel sector.

However, there was concern about the failure to agree a harmonised approach to the migration time periods across the European Union.

In setting down the new deadline, the EBA has moved to clarify the position across Europe, urging domestic market regulators to focus on "monitoring migration plans instead of pursuing immediate enforcement actions against payment service providers that are not compliant".