Instabill Merchant Account Experts Blog

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Back in January, Christina in our Client Tech Support Department wrote a blog post about 3D Secure processing. She explained the three domains, how 3D Secure processing works, and how easy it is to integrate. Now I'm taking it a step further and to give you some in-depth perspective on Verified by Visa and why it's such a great fraud prevention tool.

The History of Verified by Visa

Back in 2006, Visa became a founding member of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). The credit card company felt it was their duty to go above and beyond in helping consumers protect their credit card information. Although the PCI SSC requires all organizations handling credit card information to follow the PCI Data Security Standards, this wasn't enough for Visa.

Enter 3D Secure. Verified by Visa is a 3D Secure service for cardholders, but it's the responsibility of the e-commerce merchant to implement the service on their website. 3D Secure processing caught on quickly and other credit card companies soon created their own versions--MasterCard SecureCode, JCB International J/Secure, and American Express SafeKey.

How Verified by Visa Works for E-Commerce Merchants

As an e-commerce merchant, there are two important aspects you need to know about Verified by Visa.

1. If you want to use Verified by Visa on your website, you'll need a 3D Secure merchant account. Not all acquiring banks offer 3D Secure merchant account solutions, but we have banking partner that do. Be sure to let your merchant account specialist know up front if you want a 3D Secure merchant account so we can match you with the best acquiring bank for your business.
2. Verified by Visa shifts fraud liability from merchant to credit card issuing bank. Don't look at this as an easy way out of preventing credit card fraud. Verified by Visa is an added layer of protection for everyone. Not all cardholders have registered for the Verified by Visa services, but the Web app's technology can detect those who have. When a cardholder signs up for the service, they have to create a password that only they and their credit card issuing bank will know. You, the merchant, will not know this password, which means you cannot be responsible for fraudulent purchases.

The most important thing to remember is that if the customer doesn't know the password, then they can't complete the transaction. Fraud deferred.

Verified by Visa is Easy for Everyone

As an e-commerce merchant, integrating Verified by Visa into your website is easy. You won't need to do anything extra, besides asking for a 3D Secure merchant account. Once you've integrated your payment gateway, you're done. Your website will operate as it would if you had a non-3D Secure merchant account.

Your customers won't need to do anything unexpected either. Verified by Visa will not require your customers to download any software programs. Since it is a Web application, Verified by Visa is accessible from just about any computer with an Internet connection.

Share Your Thoughts!

What advice do you have to e-commerce merchants who are considering offering Verified by Visa services on their site? There's a lot of talk about Verified by Visa out there--both good and bad. Why do you think (or don't think) the service is a valuable fraud prevention tool?