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PSD2 SCA for CISOs

What does PSD2 SCA require of a CISO?

Payment Services Directive 2 Strong Customer Authentication requirements. Under PSD2 SCA, which defines 28 controls, a CISO's work is deciding which controls you own outright, which you share and which belong to another team, then holding the evidence for the first group.

Which PSD2 SCA controls land on the CISO

CISOs own the organisation's information security strategy, budget, and risk posture. They translate compliance requirements into security programmes, report to the board, and balance security investment against business objectives.

PSD2 SCA defines 28 controls across 11 domains that directly affect the CISO role. Understanding which controls fall within your ownership, which are shared, and which are owned by other teams is the foundation of effective compliance management.

What a CISO is accountable for under PSD2 SCA

1

Defining and executing the information security strategy aligned to business goals

2

Presenting cyber risk posture and compliance status to the board and executive team

3

Allocating security budget across people, process, and technology investments

4

Managing the security organisation and building a security-aware culture

5

Overseeing incident response capability and crisis management readiness

Where CISOs lose time on PSD2 SCA

These are the most common obstacles CISOs face when managing PSD2 SCA compliance, and how to address them:

Challenge 1

Justifying security investment to the board with clear business metrics

Challenge 2

Managing compliance across multiple frameworks without duplicating effort

Challenge 3

Hiring and retaining qualified security professionals in a competitive market

Challenge 4

Keeping pace with evolving threats while maintaining compliance baselines

Challenge 5

Balancing security controls with business agility and user experience

A working order for a CISO starting on PSD2 SCA

1. Readiness Assessment

Take a 5-minute readiness assessment to identify your organisation's current gap profile against PSD2 SCA. Get a prioritised action plan tailored to your specific situation.

2. Cross-Framework Mapping

Use our platform to map PSD2 SCA controls against other frameworks you already comply with. PSD2 SCA maps to 146 other frameworks in our database.

3. Build Your Toolkit

Equip yourself with PSD2 SCA toolkits, self-assessments, and implementation guides from our store. Resources designed specifically for CISOs managing compliance programmes.

4. Continuous Monitoring

Establish ongoing compliance monitoring using our platform's gap analysis tools. Track your maturity over time and demonstrate progress to stakeholders.

PSD2 SCA in your sector

PSD2 SCA for Healthcare→PSD2 SCA for Financial Services→PSD2 SCA for Technology→PSD2 SCA for Government→PSD2 SCA for Manufacturing→PSD2 SCA for Energy→PSD2 SCA for Retail→PSD2 SCA for Education→

Who else owns part of PSD2 SCA

PSD2 SCA for Compliance OfficersView guide →PSD2 SCA for Risk ManagersView guide →PSD2 SCA for IT DirectorsView guide →PSD2 SCA for DPOsView guide →PSD2 SCA for AuditorsView guide →

Questions CISOs ask about PSD2 SCA

What does a CISO need to know about PSD2 SCA?
As a CISO, your key responsibilities under PSD2 SCA include defining and executing the information security strategy aligned to business goals and presenting cyber risk posture and compliance status to the board and executive team. The framework contains 28 controls that fall within your area of responsibility. Understanding which controls you own versus which are shared with other teams is critical for effective implementation.
How does PSD2 SCA affect the CISO role?
PSD2 SCA directly impacts CISOs through defining and executing the information security strategy aligned to business goals, presenting cyber risk posture and compliance status to the board and executive team, allocating security budget across people, process, and technology investments. The framework provides structure that helps CISOs demonstrate due diligence and report compliance status to stakeholders.
What are the biggest PSD2 SCA challenges for CISOs?
Common challenges include justifying security investment to the board with clear business metrics; managing compliance across multiple frameworks without duplicating effort; hiring and retaining qualified security professionals in a competitive market. Using cross-framework mapping tools and automated evidence collection can significantly reduce these pain points.
How should a CISO prepare for a PSD2 SCA audit?
Start by conducting a readiness assessment to identify gaps. Then focus on allocating security budget across people, process, and technology investments and managing the security organisation and building a security-aware culture. Maintain a current evidence repository and ensure all control owners have documented their processes. Our readiness reports provide a prioritised action plan specific to your gap profile.
What tools help CISOs manage PSD2 SCA compliance?
Effective PSD2 SCA compliance management requires tools for gap analysis, control mapping, evidence collection, and reporting. Our compliance platform provides AI-powered gap analysis across 1,120 frameworks with 315K+ verified control-to-control mappings, helping CISOs identify overlapping requirements and reduce duplicate compliance effort.

CISO: How ready is your organisation for PSD2 SCA?

Answer 25 questions and get a professional readiness report with gap analysis, maturity scores, and prioritised action items. Results in 5 minutes.

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Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.Last updated .