What is 3D Secure?

3DS adds a robust verification step into the payments process, which helps merchants and the customer’s payment account provider, ensure that the person making the payment is the genuine customer.

What transaction types does 3D Secure apply to?

3DS is used for online transactions - whether through desktop, tablet or mobile - where the account holder isn’t present. Merchants can choose not to apply 3DS to a transaction, but they then risk being liable for costs if the transaction turns out to be fraudulent.

How does 3D Secure work?

When a customer is paying online and 3DS is applied to the transaction, they are required to complete an extra step which helps to confirm who they are. This ‘two-step authentication’ process can be completed through something like a one-time password via SMS, or the use of biometrics through their mobile, for instance.

What else do I need to know about 3DS?

It’s important to be able to tailor these authentication processes to suit your customer base, including offering different options for how customers are able to authenticate themselves. This helps to ensure that customers don’t get put off and abandon the transaction. The great news is that 3DS helps businesses meet their compliance obligations around PSD2, the latest legislation applied to online payments in Europe, as well as reducing the risk of fraud.

3DS for Banks and Fintechs: Tribe Access Control Server (ACS)

If you’re providing cards or payment accounts to customers for online payments, you will need to have a 3D Secure solution in place to help authenticate the customer. Tribe can process the authentication request against customised parameters set by you, or we can pass back decisioning to your internal risk teams. We can also issue and process additional authentication requests, should you need to challenge a transaction.

3DS for Acquirers: Tribe 3DS Server (MPI)

Coupled with our Acquirer Processor, you can use our 3D Secure capabilities to plug-in to your merchants’ payments, so they can support the latest standards of authentication on all their online transactions. Using 3DS can help protect them, and you against liability for the cost of fraudulent transactions and keep your fraud rates down.