Eway bolsters online transaction security for card payments

Leading ecommerce payments provider Eway has introduced an added layer of fraud protection, which verifies a buyer’s identity to significantly reduce chargeback dispute losses for online merchants related to unauthorised purchases.

The 3D Secure 2.0 technology, released by EMVCo®, uses a rich set of data points exchanged between the merchant, issuer and card scheme to validate the cardholder in real-time.

This technology changes the game for merchants as it embraces a shift in financial liability from merchants to card issuers, so that merchants are no longer responsible for fronting the costs of fraud-related chargebacks. It is the card issuer’s own set of authentication rules that decides whether a transaction is challenged or instantly verified as part of the purchase process. This means the onus shifts to the issuer, freeing the online merchant of unwelcome business losses.

Eway Australia and New Zealand Head of Product Dan Sketcher said that this new payments feature will appeal to merchants who want added security and buyer authentication without increasing cart abandonment during the checkout process.

“Eway understands that merchants want a seamless shopping experience with minimal friction, high approval rates and low chargebacks to drive sales on their site,” Sketcher said.

Eway data shows that enabling 3D Secure 2.0 can prevent up to 50% of a merchant’s fraud chargebacks.

Information about the transaction, the cardholder’s browser or mobile device, as well as the cardholder’s account history with the particular merchant are all collected and passed on to the issuing bank.

Responses are then immediately returned to the cardholder at the time of transaction. In some scenarios, cardholders may be requested to provide additional authentication via a one time passcode, fingerprint, or challenge (e.g. Face ID) on their mobile to validate they are initiating the transaction.

This provides merchants with certainty that the transaction is a genuine customer and if it is later proven to be fraudulent, the cost of that chargeback will be passed to the cardholder’s bank. Cardholders are less likely to provide this extra authentication when purchasing from sites they visit regularly.

Enabling of 3D Secure 2.0 can provide the following benefits for merchants:

• Validation of the cardholder behind the transaction: Utilising rich data can  prevent unauthorised purchases from happening in the first place.
• Reduction in fraud chargeback costs: Shifting the financial liability from the business to the customer’s card issuing bank when a chargeback occurs.
• Reduction in cart abandonment: Improving the customer experience by removing authorisation hoops to streamline and create a frictionless checkout experience.
• Improvement in brand loyalty: Fast, seamless and secure shopping experiences lead to brand loyalty as customers start to favour their preferred online shops and checkout experiences.

Sketcher added, “The complimentary Eway Fraud Protection Plan included with an Eway account works together with 3D Secure 2.0 by detecting different risk factors and data that may contribute to fraud. It provides peace of mind through stronger fraud protection for ecommerce merchants.”

3D Secure 2.0 is enabled for a fee on a merchant’s Eway account. For more information, visit: www.eway.com.au/fraud-protection/3ds-2/