Cardholder Verification adds an extra layer of security by using 3D Secure (3DS) to verify that the person entering a card is the legitimate cardholder before processing a payment.
This can help reduce fraudulent transactions and chargebacks, even when the card is being stored as a guarantee and no payment is being collected immediately.
What is Cardholder Verification?
What is Cardholder Verification?
Cardholder Verification authenticates the cardholder before a payment is attempted.
Once the verification is successfully completed, ChargeAutomation displays a shield icon next to the verified card details in the Booking Details and Credit Card modals.
This makes it easy to identify cards that have successfully passed verification.
Key Benefits
Key Benefits
🛡️ Reduce Fraud Risk
Verifying the cardholder before processing a transaction can help reduce the risk of fraudulent or unauthorized payments.
💳 Verify Cards Used as Guarantees
You can verify a card even when you are only collecting it as a guarantee and are not charging it immediately.
👀 Easily Identify Verified Cards
A shield icon appears next to successfully verified card details, providing a quick visual confirmation.
Pricing and Requirements
Pricing and Requirements
Cost: $0.99 per successful verification
Available on: Essentials and Pro plans
Requirement: A supported PCI Booking payment gateway must be connected to ChargeAutomation.
How to Enable Cardholder Verification
How to Enable Cardholder Verification
Go to Payment Gateway Settings.
Open the settings for the connected payment gateway.
Look for the Enable Cardholder Verification option.
Enable the checkbox.
Review the subscription confirmation and confirm that you want to activate the feature.
Once enabled, ChargeAutomation will use 3DS to authenticate the cardholder when verification is required.
Important: Liability Shift
Important: Liability Shift
Cardholder Verification and liability shift are related but are not the same thing.
For some payment gateways, 3DS authentication performed by ChargeAutomation may not be accepted by the payment gateway as the gateway's own 3DS authentication for liability-shift purposes.
This means:
The cardholder can still be verified through ChargeAutomation.
Fraud risk can still be reduced through authentication.
However, liability shift may not apply if the payment gateway does not recognize the 3DS authentication for liability-shift purposes.
Whether liability shift applies depends on the specific payment gateway and its handling of 3DS authentication.
Important: Visa and 3DS Authentication
Important: Visa and 3DS Authentication
ChargeAutomation follows Visa requirements regarding the use of 3DS authentication data.
A Cardholder Authentication Verification Value (CAVV) should not be reused across multiple transactions.
Each transaction that requires 3DS authentication must use the appropriate authentication data.
What does this mean?
If you need to charge a Visa card multiple times, you may need to perform a new cardholder verification before a subsequent transaction.
This helps ensure that the authentication remains compliant with Visa requirements and avoids reusing authentication data incorrectly.
Common Use Cases
Common Use Cases
Cardholder Verification can be useful when you:
Collect a card as a booking guarantee without charging it immediately.
Want to authenticate the cardholder before processing a payment.
Want to add an additional layer of fraud protection.
Need to verify a card before placing or managing an authorization.
Want greater confidence that the card was entered by the legitimate cardholder.
Troubleshooting: Error 10003
Troubleshooting: Error 10003
Error: "No such payment_intent"
You may encounter Error 10003 when attempting to release or capture a verification authorization.
One common cause is that the Payment Gateway settings were changed after the cardholder verification was completed.
How to resolve it
The authorization must be released or captured through the same payment gateway account that was used when the verification was initiated.
If the gateway was changed after verification, switching back to the original gateway may be necessary to complete the action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Cardholder Verification charge the guest?
No. The $0.99 fee is a ChargeAutomation feature fee charged for each successful verification. The verification itself does not necessarily mean that the guest is being charged for their reservation.
Can I verify a card without charging it?
Yes. Cardholder Verification can be used when collecting card details as a guarantee, even when you are not immediately charging the card.
Does verification guarantee liability shift?
No. Liability shift depends on the payment gateway and how it handles the 3DS authentication. Verification provides additional fraud protection, but it does not automatically guarantee liability shift.
Can the same 3DS authentication be reused?
For Visa cards, authentication data such as the CAVV should not be reused for multiple subsequent transactions. A new verification may be required when charging the card again.
Need Help?
If you have questions or run into any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team at [email protected]. We’re happy to help!