Authentication (3DS)
Authentication is a process to verify the identity of a cardholder before making a purchase. It helps to reduce identity fraud, and is how acquiring banks in Singapore determine which party is liable for a chargeback. Across Southeast Asia, authentication is commonly referred to as 3D Secure or 3DS, and often requires cardholder to enter a One-Time-Password (OTP) that is sent to their phone by the issuing bank. Many issuing banks outside of Southeast Asia also supports authentication, but use of OTP is not as common as in some regions, like the US.
New GetzPay accounts require 3DS by default, but this can be made optional upon request. If you would like the option to skip 3DS, please ask your GetzPay Account Manager.
Some common authentication scenarios for consideration are:
| Scenario | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Never authenticate | Offers best user experience. The customer does not need to go through the extra process of authentication. | Will not work for some debit cards (Malaysian debit cards and Indonesian Mandiri debit cards). No liability protection for chargeback. Higher chargeback risk. |
| Authenticate once for new cards | Helps to prevent unauthorized transaction, identity theft, and fraud (3DS). | No liability protection for chargeback (requires 3DS per charge). Will not work for some debit cards (Malaysian debit cards and Indonesian Mandiri debit cards), even if it successfully passes 3DS. |
| Authenticate every transaction | Maximum liability protection for chargeback (you should win any chargeback dispute and not have to refund customers who raise a chargeback). | Least best user experience: Your customer is required to do 3DS for every transaction. Your customer needs to have Singapore SIM Card in their phone (for Singapore card), which is inconvenient when traveling. |
| Rule-based authentication | Balance between liability protection for chargeback and better user experience. | Requires coding / updating rules to prevent fraud and ease checkout experience for customer. |
Authentication (3DS)
Electronic Commerce Indicator (ECI) is a value that is returned from the Directory Server (Visa and MasterCard) to indicate the authentication results of your customer's credit card payment on 3D Secure.
| Visa and other | MasterCard | Description | Chargeback Liability Shifted from Merchants to Cardholder |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05 | 02 | Both cardholder and card issuing bank are 3DS enabled. 3DS Authentication was successful; transaction secured by 3DS | ✅ Yes |
| 06 | 01 | 3DS Authentication was attempted but was not or could not be completed; some of the reasons could be: -Card is not enrolled to 3DS -Issuer is not participating on 3DS -Timeout from the issuer | ✅ Yes |
| 07 | 00 | 3DS Authentication either failed or could not be attempted; some of the reasons could be: -Card is not enrolled to 3DS -The issuing bank does not handle it as a 3D transaction -Error from Directory Server lookup -Card is enrolled to 3DS but failed to authenticate This code is common for foreign cards like the United States and Canada. Even though it’s from a legit cardholder and we have attempted 3DS, sometimes the issuer will still return ECI 00/07 | ❌ No |