3-D Secure Verification

3-D Secure: online payment protection technology

3-D Secure is a security protocol designed to prevent fraudulent online card transactions. The technology is supported by major payment systems and is known under the *Verified by Visa* and *Mastercard SecureCode* brands.

Benefits for payment ecosystem participants

For customers, the technology provides additional protection against fraudulent transactions made with stolen cards.

For merchants, enabling 3-D Secure means that liability for disputed payments is shifted to the issuing bank — the bank that issued the customer’s card.

How 3-D Secure works

The payment authorization process depends on the protocol version:

1. 3‑D Secure 1.0 (3DS 1.0)

When making a payment, the customer is redirected to the Access Control Server (ACS) form — the issuing bank’s page. To confirm the transaction, the customer enters a verification code received by SMS or email.

2. 3‑D Secure 2.0 (3DS 2.0)

In this protocol version, the system collects and analyzes additional information about the customer’s browser and devices (for example, IP address, device type, and security settings).

Thanks to enhanced analysis, most transactions are completed without any extra action from the customer — authentication takes place in the background.

If the system detects suspicious signals (an unusual payment location, a new device, etc.), the customer may be asked to complete additional verification by entering a code on the issuer’s ACS form, as in 3DS 1.0.