3-D Secure (3DS)

Roles that need it

• Fraud Analyst
• Payments Partnerships Manager (Acquiring & Gateways)
• Merchant Acquiring Sales Executive
• Product Owner (Banking)
• Chargeback & Disputes Analyst

Skills it belongs to

• Payments and cards products (schemes, chargebacks, PSD2, open banking)
• Fraud typologies and controls

Related concepts

• Strong customer authentication (SCA)Strong customer authentication uses at least two independent elements from knowledge (something only the user knows), possession (something only the user has) and inherence (something the user is). PSD2 requires it for online account access and electronic payments, with dynamic linking to amount and payee for remote payments, and allows exemptions such as low-value payments.
• ChargebackA chargeback is the reversal of a card transaction started by the cardholder's bank (the issuer) under card scheme rules after the cardholder disputes it, for reasons such as fraud or goods not received. The merchant's bank (the acquirer) debits the merchant, who can contest it through representment and, if needed, scheme arbitration.
• Network tokenisationNetwork tokenisation replaces a card number with a token issued by the card scheme and tied to a specific merchant or device, so the real card number is neither stored nor transmitted. Tokens update automatically when a card is renewed, which lowers fraud, reduces the scope of PCI DSS and raises approval rates for stored-card payments.
• Payment gatewayA payment gateway is the technical service that captures payment details at an online or in-store checkout, encrypts them and routes them to the acquirer or processor for authorisation, then returns the result to the merchant. Gateways often add tokenisation, fraud screening, 3-D Secure and support for local payment methods.

Sources

• EMV 3-D Secure, EMVCo (external site) accessed 31 Oct 2026
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/389 on strong customer authentication and common and secure communication, EUR-Lex (external site) accessed 31 Oct 2026

Updated 31 Oct 2026.