EMV 3-D Secure
The EMVCo protocol for authenticating cardholders in online card payments, with frictionless and challenge flows.
EMV 3-D Secure is an EMVCo specification for authenticating cardholders in card-not-present transactions, in which the merchant, the card issuer and the card scheme exchange data about the transaction and the device. The issuer can approve without interaction, the frictionless flow, or ask the cardholder to authenticate, the challenge flow. In Europe it is the usual way to apply strong customer authentication to online card payments, which makes it a point where an agent-initiated purchase may be handed back to the customer for a challenge.
Agent Minute explains this term on 14 February 2027.
Related terms
Card-not-present transactionA card payment where the card is not physically presented to the merchant, such as online or in-app.Strong customer authenticationAuthentication using two or more independent elements from knowledge, possession and inherence.Agent tokenA payment credential issued for use by a specific agent, which can be limited and revoked without replacing the card.Payment tokenA substitute value that replaces a card number, usable only in a defined domain such as one device or merchant.