by Papa Clement Mon Aug 19, 2019 2:31 pm
I hadn't heard anything about this, but reading the link I don't think it will make any difference.
Whichever payment method you use, the provider (Paypal, credit card provider etc) might introduce different authentication, but the rule does specify exemptions for "beneficiaries classed as trustworthy by the payer" (i.e. Agema), "low value transactions" (up to €30), and "transaction risk analysis of the payment service provider results in low risk" (which I think means that if a criminal was to try to use Agema for fraud, it would be logged on a list and tougher authentication would be required, but until this happens, Agema would be classed as low risk so not affected).
As a somewhat technologically backward luddite, it won't surprise you that I don't have a smartphone and it seems rather odd to me if a law would be passed which means I couldn't pay my game turn fee without confirming it by fingerprint or voice-ID.
Not all new regulations are good, indeed many are not. If you have not had the opportunity, I strongly recommend listening to this year's Reith Lectures by Lord Sumption about the role of politics and law. Among the many thought-provoking points he makes is one that where politicians fail (either to address a situation or to draft a comprehensive legal solution to a problem), power does not simply disappear, but is transferred to judges. Judges reduce complex decisions to binary outcomes (guilty or not guilty, a particular law applies or does not apply, thereby creating precedents). This, he argues, often creates bad law. As a recently retired Supreme Court Judge, he has a lifetime experience of the subject. He also has some rather interesting observations on sovereignty and democracy.