A Critical Analysis of Buyer Authenticated Credit Card Payment Programs： The Online Merchant′s Perspective

Recently introduced by the major credit card associations as replacements for the decommissioned SET and 3DSET protocols, the new payment models, 3DSecure and UCAF/SPA, have been designed to provide online merchants with a solution to an existing problem in online credit card transactions - the lack of an effective and efficient means of authenticating cardholders. The expected benefits arising from this added level of security from the merchant′s perspective are increased consumer confidence, significant reduction in the levels of fraud and charge backs and "liability shift". Using data gleaned from preliminary interviews, discussion forums and promotional material, we present a critical analysis of the potential barriers and facilitators that will impact on the widespread traction of these programs in the marketplace in the coming years.