3D Secure or not?
To 3D Secure or not to, that is often the question. We did some work for one of our clients and 3D Secure was part of the study. In summary:.
- there are two main 3D Secure providers; Verified by VISA and MasterCard Secure Code
- both are using similar technology that ‘pops up’ in a transaction process
- the 3D Secure page is, and looks, very disconnected from the transaction process and is typically unbranded
- the 3D Secure page is not always part of the transaction process (seemingly random but we think that the credit card companies determine who will see one and who doesn’t)
- users are generally not warned that a 3D Secure page can/will be part of the transaction process
Because the 3D Secure page is not always part of any given online transaction process users are surprised to see it. Mostly the surprise is negative and users may think that it is a phishing page and distrust it which is ironic.
We concluded that it is a question of how much the user trusts the brand when the 3D Secure page comes up. For example, if Amazon would introduce it (they don’t in the moment) nobody would question it. However, is a small unknown website that introduces 3D Secure to reassure their customers will have mixed results.
Also, previous research showed that users who regularly shop online were familiar with the process and completely resigned to it. Those who were not frequent shoppers were more troubled by it as they were not familiar with the prompts, the concept and missed some of the pathetically small calls to action.
I haven’t seen any stats but I think the drop-off rate would be quite high. I’m sure there is a reason why 3D Secure separates, but from a customer perspective I don’t like it. Wouldn’t it be nice if 3D Secure could be integrated in any given process? I think YES and I’m sure most customers would agree. Don’t you?
Comments
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Will3D Secure is a mess, the banks should be ashamed of themselves for bullying smaller retailers into having it on their sites and doing such a poor job of raising awareness about it. Most non industry people don’t know a thing about it and it just adds another step into the basket.
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GaryI’ve exactly the same (mixed) feelings about 3D-secure. I’m advising a client not to switch to 3D secure because I think the rise in drop-off rate will outweigh the tightened fraud detection. From a usability viewpoint 3D secure is a nightmare. And bad usability might come at a higher cost than tightened security will prove to be a saving.
