EMV 3DS Payments Resource Brief
EMV® 3-D Secure Mini-Series

As adoption of EMV® 3-D Secure (EMV 3DS) continues to grow, new opportunities and challenges are emerging across the payments ecosystem. While many of these topics warrant in-depth exploration, the U.S. Payments Forum has developed this mini-series to provide concise, actionable guidance on less commonly discussed use cases and key implementation considerations.

Through this series, industry stakeholders gain practical insights to help reduce fraud, improve authorization rates, streamline operations, and enhance the digital customer experience. All four briefs in the series are now available.

Brief #1: EMV 3DS Fundamentals and Use Cases

The first brief introduces the core domains of EMV 3DS and its role in reducing e-commerce fraud. It highlights key benefits for merchants and issuers, explores common use cases, and examines adoption challenges such as system complexity and cardholder friction. This overview provides the foundation for understanding how EMV 3DS supports secure, streamlined digital commerce.

Published May 2025

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Brief #2: EMV 3DS Data Only Mode

The second brief examines Data Only Mode — an EMV 3DS variation that enables merchants to share enriched transaction data with issuers without prompting cardholder authentication. By relying on risk-based analysis, Data Only Mode reduces friction in checkout, minimizes false declines, and helps increase approval rates.

Key insights include:

  • How Data Only transactions differ from standard EMV 3DS
  • Benefits such as reduced cart abandonment, improved authorization rates, and enhanced fraud detection
  • Considerations for merchant adoption, processing requirements, and liability implications

This brief is essential for merchants and issuers seeking to balance fraud prevention with seamless customer experience.

Published August 2025

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Brief #3: EMV 3DS Requestor-Initiated (3RI) Authentication

The third brief explores Requestor-Initiated (3RI) authentication, also known as merchant-initiated authentication, which enables merchants to authenticate transactions without direct customer interaction. This approach is particularly valuable for recurring payments, installment transactions, delayed shipments, stored credentials, and other merchant-initiated use cases.

The brief outlines:

  • Common 3RI use cases, including recurring, installment, top-up, and card-on-file transactions
  • How 3RI supports fraud mitigation and regulatory alignment
  • Liability shift considerations when authentication is successful
  • Operational efficiencies and potential conversion benefits
  • Implementation challenges, including technical integration and customer communication

3RI represents a significant advancement in enabling secure authentication for transactions where the cardholder is not actively present — balancing risk management, compliance, and customer experience.

Published February 2026

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Brief #4: Advanced EMV 3DS Products and Emerging Use Cases

The fourth and final brief explores advanced EMV 3DS capabilities and emerging use cases, highlighting how the protocol continues to evolve to support new payment models, authentication methods, and fraud prevention strategies.

The brief covers:

  • Decoupled authentication, enabling secure, out-of-band transaction approval
  • The use of FIDO authentication data to strengthen identity verification
  • Secure Payment Confirmation (SPC) and the role of passkeys in reducing friction and improving security
  • Emerging applications, including agentic commerce, and the evolving role of EMV 3DS in supporting AI-driven transactions
  • Considerations related to fraud monitoring programs and broader ecosystem impacts

This final installment provides a forward-looking view into how EMV 3DS is adapting to meet the needs of modern digital commerce.

Published March 2026

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Please note: The information and materials available on this web page (“Information”) is provided solely for convenience and does not constitute legal or technical advice. All representations or warranties, express or implied, are expressly disclaimed, including without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose and all warranties regarding accuracy, completeness, adequacy, results, title and non-infringement. All Information is limited to the scenarios, stakeholders and other matters specified, and should be considered in light of applicable laws, regulations, industry rules and requirements, facts, circumstances and other relevant factors. None of the Information should be interpreted or construed to require or promote the establishment of any solution, practice, configuration, rule, requirement or specification inconsistent with applicable legal requirements, any of which requirements may change over time. The U.S. Payments Forum assumes no responsibility to support, maintain or update the Information, regardless of any such change. Use of or reliance on the Information is at the user’s sole risk, and users are strongly encouraged to consult with their respective payment networks, acquirers, processors, vendors and appropriately qualified technical and legal experts prior to all implementation decisions.

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