WorldNet TPS plans to use First Atlantic Commerce’s fraud-prevention services to further protect its online merchants from card-not-present fraud in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe, the companies announced this week. First Atlantic Commerce, a payment gateway and risk-management services provider, offers 3-D Secure and other customized consumer risk services in Europe and in the Asia Pacific and Latin American regions.
Ireland-based WorldNet already helps customers to combat fraud through verification of cardholder addresses and the card verification value and card validation codes on their cards. Adding 3-D Secure to the mix will enable WorldNet merchants to have an added authentication layer to reduce unauthorized transactions and charge-backs, both companies say in a news release.
3-D Secure is designed to protect online merchants from fraudulent transactions and is a fully compliant payer-authentication product for Verified by Visa and MasterCard, the release notes. The secure service provides non-face-to-face verification to online merchants that a customer is the authorized owner of a card account. 3-D Secure also enables all involved in an e-commerce payment transaction to transmit confidential and valid payment data that fraudsters or hackers cannot intercept.
Cardholders register for Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode by creating a personal identification number or password to authenticate online payments at participating merchant locations. Merchants also must register to participate.
When enrolled cardholders complete a transaction, they enter their PIN or password to verify they are the legitimate cardholders. If the PIN or password fails, the merchant cancels the transaction because it is an indication of fraud. Canceling the transaction also prevents a charge-back from occurring, Andrea Williams, founder and director of Bermuda-based First Atlantic Commerce, tells PaymentsSource.
Adding 3-D Secure should “not be seen as replacing earlier methods but as complementing them to increase the overall security of the online payment experience,” says John Clarke, WorldNet head of product innovation, tells PaymentsSource.
For online merchants, “there are two drivers to accept 3-D secure,” he says. 3-D Secure is “becoming mandatory for certain card types in Europe, such as Maestro domestic debit cards in the UK.” And merchants that support 3-D Secure are “guaranteed protection from the main types of online fraud,” Clarke notes.
WorldNet’s goal is to reduce fraud risk for all its merchants, “but the exact percentage will depend on the specific sectors the merchants operate in,” he says.
