New Visa Consumer Authentication Service Combats eCommerce Fraud

Visa Consumer Authentication Service authenticates the consumer prior to the authorization process, adding a powerful layer of protection against fraud. As the consumer begins the online checkout process, the solution performs a real-time risk assessment of the transaction based on numerous inputs including device and transaction information and historical spending patterns. The result is that issuers can complete lower-risk eCommerce transactions without requiring consumers to go through the extra step of entering their passwords or other verification. The solution minimizes disruption and abandonment at the point of purchase, while also helping issuers and merchants reduce fraud losses.

„Cyber Monday is the day when consumers traditionally begin searching the Internet for holiday gifts and sales. Coinciding with this busy online shopping period, Visa is launching Visa Consumer Authentication Service, providing an extra layer of protection to online transactions,” said Silvio Tavares, head of global information products for Visa Inc. „This solution is another example of how we use Visa’s network intelligence to create tangible value for merchants and our financial institution clients. Because the solution only prompts consumers for verification of the riskiest transactions, most consumers will have a streamlined authentication process when using Verified by Visa.”

Visa Consumer Authentication Service is a hosted access control server that provides issuers with the following capabilities:

• Sophisticated risk-based authentication. Visa Consumer Authentication Service’s risk-scoring model takes into account enhanced inputs, including critical information about the device, transaction information and spending profiles. This data will enhance issuers’ decision-making ability to identify potential fraud and prompt for verification only when necessary.
• Dynamic methods of authentication. Visa Consumer Authentication Service supports a wide range of account holder authentication methods. This means higher-risk transactions may be verified by the issuer in a variety of ways including more secure, dynamic methods such as one-time passwords or hardware tokens.
• Support for mobile. Visa Consumer Authentication Service can be integrated to function through a range of devices including mobile phones and tablets, to ensure consumers have a secure, efficient and reliable payment experience when shopping through another channel beyond the PC.
• Rules for strategy refinement. Visa Consumer Authentication Service provides issuers with the tools to write additional rules to further refine risk decisioning capabilities.

Source: Visa Inc.