Visa’s 3-D Secure 2.0 program is available for processing secure e-commerce transactions
Visa has been helping online merchants and issuers identify potentially fraudulent transactions with 3-D Secure (3DS) for nearly 20 years. Since then, a lot has changed when it comes to personal technology, consumer behavior and payments. Mobile phones, tablets and wearables that connect to the Internet have increasingly become omnipresent among consumers globally. Consumers largely enjoy and expect always-on connectivity with mobile devices, which has delivered significant convenience for online shopping and in-the-moment purchase decisions. Lastly, digital payments have accelerated multi-channel e-commerce by enabling simplified payments on hardware and software beyond the PC.
The evolution to the Visa 3DS 2.0 program reflects our commitment to ongoing refinement of fraud prevention tools that both identify fraud and provide a smooth buying experience for cardholders. Visa’s 3DS 2.0 program – now available – offers significant enhancements in e-commerce fraud detection capabilities for issuers and merchants, and can reduce friction for cardholders at checkout.
With EMVCo’s recent announcement on the availability of its EMV® 3-D Secure Test Platform, service providers can begin testing their software to ensure it complies with the new specification¹. Additionally, Visa has developed its own 3DS 2.0 Test Suite which vendors will need to complete in order to participate in Visa’s 3DS 2.0 program.
The Importance of 3-D Secure 2.0
3DS 2.0 is more important than ever. The proliferation of connected devices has made it easier for consumers to purchase goods and services online, but has also introduced new challenges for combatting online fraud and providing frictionless checkout experiences. Visa’s 3DS 2.0 program addresses these challenges by supporting transactions across a variety of devices while enabling ten times more data to support advanced risk-based decision-making. This can allow for more effective authentication of transactions and lead to higher approval rates and lower shopping cart abandonment. Merchants and issuers can benefit from catching and avoiding fraud more effectively, while consumers can benefit from secure, simple transactions with less friction.
3DS 2.0 can also help with the Secure Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements in Europe’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). Guidelines for security and standardization requires two-factor authentication with the option to use biometrics. 3DS 2.0 can help issuers and third parties meet SCA requirements since 3DS 2.0 can communicate a greater set of data that includes biometric data for advanced decision-making.
According to data from eMarketer, e-commerce is forecasted to only represent 11.9 percent of total global retail sales in 2018 with brick and mortar still the dominant retail channel². Separately, experts at McKinsey & Company have predicted that 1.4 billion people will join the global middle class by 2020³. This could mean there is significant potential upside opportunity for e-commerce merchants. Unfortunately, this will likely attract more fraudsters to e-commerce channels as well. Fortunately for consumers, issuers, acquirers, and merchants, 3DS 2.0 can help turn the odds in favor of the good guys.
For more information on EMVCo’s testing requirements, visit the EMVCo website. More information on Visa’s 3DS 2.0 program can be found on the Visa Technology Partner 3DS 2.0 library page.