When consumers shop online, the last thing they want is for their purchases to be slow, interrupted, or worse — declined. A disjointed user experience leaves them feeling frustrated, at best.
But when financial service providers (FSPs) adopt a modern, compliant approach to payment authentication that includes 3D Secure, they can deliver a personalised, seamless user experience and achieve better fraud protection and higher transaction success rates.
Regulatory compliance is essential
The value of e-commerce transactions is forecast to reach over $8 trillion worldwide by 2026. And it’s no shock that the number of cyberattacks will continue to skyrocket too. In fact, card-not-present (CNP) fraud could reach as high as $49 billion by 2030.
However, in the financial services sector, industry bodies such as EMVCo and the FIDO Alliance constantly create, update, and maintain technical standards that help FSPs keep fraudsters at arm’s length. Not only do these global specifications mitigate fraud, but they also strive to deliver seamless online banking experiences.
Securing digital payments with 3D Secure
The 3D Secure standard was initially developed to protect consumers and merchants from fraud. However, the first version, 3D Secure version 1, was officially sunsetted in October 2022. Why? Because it was outdated and no longer supported the needs of the current digital banking landscape.
Nevertheless, many vendors still use version 1.0. While utilising this outdated protocol, they are open to fraud and liability costs.
3D Secure technology has vastly improved since version 1.0. The subsequent versions (referred to as EMV 3-D Secure) match the needs of modern digital banking practices, enabling FSPs to identify fraudulent transactions faster and with greater accuracy. Partnering with providers that use the newer EMV 3-D Secure standards, such as EMVCo 3DS spec (2.2), can help FSPs maintain a secure, uninterrupted customer experience.
The benefits of ACS configurability
Financial institutions that can configure their Access Control Server (ACS) enjoy many additional benefits. Instead of their options being blocked by technical limitations, they can set up a practical authentication ecosystem that suits their business.
Cloud-based solutions offer more configurability freedom, which is especially beneficial for medium to large issuers, who are likelier to want more control and self-service options.
And, while most ACS vendors require weeks to make a small change to the client experience, a configurable ACS lets FIs take charge of their solution, allowing for rapid, iterative changes and the delivery of services according to their checks and procedures.
More data = more control
Modern banking means understanding who your customer is to offer them the best experience at the moment. For that to happen, however, you need data on who’s transacting, when, where and how. The more data you have about each transaction, the more seamless and secure the user journey can be.
With an ACS that shares this data, FSPs can make optimal decisions when managing their customers’ transactions. And the result:
- Increased authorised payments and higher transaction success rates.
- Fewer chargebacks thanks to modern authentication options like FIDO, in-app, biometric, and decoupled authentication.
- A better understanding of user behaviour to support data-driven decision
Key takeaways
By gaining more control, configurability, and security through your 3D Secure ACS, banks and credit unions can create an authentic customer-centric user experience – one that keeps transactions flowing, prevents fraud, builds a win-win relationship for all, and amplifies growth.
Want to learn more about Entersekt’s 3D Secure ACS and its partnership with Pismo?
Visit our partner page.
