13.1m SA cardholders now 3D Secure

13.1 million or 98% of card holders in South Africa are currently registered to use 3D Secure which redirects online credit or debit card payments to the bank’s 3D Secure service to facilitate an authentication process.

13.1 million South African cardholders are currently registered to use 3D Secure says Walter Volker, CEO of The Payments Association of South Africa (PASA). “This accounts for 98% of all cardholders who are able to perform secure e-commerce transactions with their cards, which is a substantial increase from only 76% at the end of 2013,” he reported.

According to the official South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), Card Not Present (CNP) fraud contributed to 63% of the total credit card fraud losses during Q1 of 2014. This category of fraud remains one of the biggest concerns for PASA and the banking industry as a whole.

With 3D Secure implementation, we have seen decreased fraud in a number of merchant categories and we will continue to reap the full benefit of reduced fraud once all merchants have implemented the system,” says Volker. “Unfortunately, there is still a number of high volume, high risk merchants such as some airline companies, travel agencies and direct marketing companies who have not implemented 3D Secure in a timely fashion – and we urge these to do so soonest.

Over the last 18 months, PASA and South African banks have worked closely with local e-commerce merchants to assist them in implementing 3D Secure to help protect cardholders against unauthorised use of their cards when shopping online. Over 90% of e-commerce merchants are already enabled to support 3D Secure.

3D Secure, also known as Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode, is an authentication service that uniquely enables the cardholder to use their card when shopping online. With 3D Secure, the online credit or debit card payment is redirected to the bank’s 3D Secure service to facilitate an authentication process.

Cardholders are encouraged to embrace the process and see this as an additional security measure to look out for when shopping online,” adds Volker. “We encourage cardholders to check whether the merchants they use are 3D Secure verified by looking out for the respective 3D Secure signs. Where a cardholder feels uncomfortable using a merchant that has not implemented 3D Secure yet, the cardholder can contact the merchant or his/her bank directly.

3D Secure is not a new system and cardholders should not be anxious or nervous to use it. “Many merchants have been using 3D Secure effectively for a number of years and thousands of 3D Secure transactions go through the system every month. The enforcement of 3D Secure at an industry level will however ensure a more uniform approach to e-commerce security – something we have been working tirelessly to achieve,” concludes Volker.

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