What is 3-D Secure (3DS)
3D Secure (3DS) is an extra security layer for online credit/debit card payments. During checkout, it adds an authentication step where the customer is redirected to their card issuer/bank to verify their identity, then returned to your store to complete payment.
How does it work on Shopify?
When Stay AI attempts to bill a customer and the payment requires 3DS authentication, the flow differs from a standard billing attempt.
Instead of receiving an immediate success or failure response, the customer receives an email from Shopify with a link to approve or deny the transaction. The link expires based on the issuing bank’s rules, typically within a few hours or days.
Customer Clicks the 3DS Link
When the customer clicks the link, Shopify notifies Stay AI.
We log the click in the Subscription History.
A click does not mean the charge was approved.
If the Customer Approves the Charge
If the customer approves:
The subscription is successfully billed.
The next order date is set to the approval date plus the subscription frequency.
If the Customer Denies the Charge
If the customer denies:
The subscription moves into dunning.
When a customer ACCEPTS the charge, then the subscription will be charged and the subscription will have its next order set to date of billing approval plus the frequency of the subscription.
When a DENIES the charge, then the subscription will go into dunning.
If the Customer Takes No Action
Shopify does not immediately notify Stay AI when a billing attempt results in a 3DS challenge.
To account for this, Stay AI queries billing attempts that did not return a success or failure every hour to detect whether a 3DS challenge link was issued.
If a 3DS challenge is detected:
The challenge is logged on the subscription.
The next order date is adjusted by the subscription frequency.