3D Secure Failures KPI

3D Secure Failures

3D Secure failures happen when a payment that requires additional customer authentication—via 3D Secure (3DS)—does not complete successfully. 3DS is designed to prevent fraud by requiring the cardholder to verify their identity, usually through a password, biometric prompt, or one-time passcode.

Failures can occur for a variety of reasons:

• The customer abandons the authentication process before completing it.
• They fail to enter the correct password or code.
• The 3DS page doesn’t load properly due to technical issues with the issuer or the customer’s device.
• The cardholder's bank may not support the version of 3D Secure being used (especially in markets with slower 3DS2 adoption).

In some cases, the failure may not result in an outright decline but could lead to increased cart abandonment, especially if the authentication experience is slow or confusing. This is particularly problematic in mobile environments or with international transactions where UX and issuer support vary.

To reduce 3D Secure failures, merchants should:

• Use 3D Secure 2 (3DS2) for better mobile and user experience.
• Implement fallback flows for retrying authentication.
• Provide clear UI cues and messaging during the verification step.
• Monitor 3DS failure rates by issuer and country to identify trends or problems.