What is Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)?
SCA is a requirement from the European authorities based on the EU Revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) with the purpose to reduce fraud while making the mobile payment transaction more secure. This regulation requires the merchant (TravelPerk) to implement a 3DS verification into the payment flow in certain transactions. This is a process that makes online payments more secure and may require some action from the person who makes the purchase.
Why do my trips require payment verification?
Cards are one of the most heavily used payment methods among our customers. Therefore, to follow the regulatory law, we had to implement the 3DS verification inside the TravelPerk platform as well. Depending on your bank, card, the total amount, and other regulatory services, your transaction may be subject to a 3DS verification. In other words, during payment, you may be asked to perform 2-step verification using your phone.
How to add a credit card as a payment method
First of all, let's clear out that 3DS verification is required only in case the customer uses a credit card to make transactions. In case the payment method is, for example, automatic SEPA, then the verification is exempt.
Adding a card
- Go to Payment methods
- Press New credit card
- Enter the card details (number, expiry date, CVC, cardholder's name and address)
- Under card security, enter the emails of people who have access to the verification code—those who have access to the mobile phone associated with the credit card. We refer to them as code owners. If a notification (or SMS) is sent by the bank, it will be to this phone. This person should be an Admin or Approver in TravelPerk.
- Check the box agreeing to give your consent for TravelPerk to take payment from this card when booking trips.
How to verify a credit card payment using the 3DS verification
3DS verification may be initiated only at the payment stage. That means once you press Continue and Confirm the payment, we start communicating with your bank.
Depending on the number of factors, this transaction may be subject to a 3DS verification. If verification is not required, your trip will be booked in a matter of seconds.
Assuming that verification is required, TravelPerk will provide you with two options to choose from to verify the payment.
- Yes, I can enter the code
By choosing this option, you confirm that you have access to the code that will be sent by the bank to the mobile phone. This could be either a notification, SMS, or code inside your bank mobile app.
In case you have to open your bank app, you'll see a verification with a countdown of around 8 minutes. This is how long you have to confirm the payment. Once you confirm, the transaction of your trip will proceed automatically. - No, notify the code owners
By choosing this option, you confirm that you do not have access to the code and you want us to send a message to the code owner to approve the payment.
Once the code owner receives this email, they'll be asked to verify the payment. They'll be redirected to the payment page of TravelPerk, and again have around 8 minutes to complete the transaction.
Can I make my company's trips exempt from 3DS verification?
Is there a way to know which trips require verification, or to make trips fully exempt from it?
Unfortunately, the decision of whether a trip will be subject to a 3DS verification is not in our control. At the moment of booking, we send all the information to the bank that's associated with the payment card. Depending on the credit card's circuit, bank's regulations, the trip amount, and other identifiers, the bank ultimately decides if the verification will be required.
Alternatively, if 3DS causes your company headaches, you may switch from credit cards completely, and use another form of payment for TravelPerk bookings.
Is there any way to reduce the possibility of my trips being subject to verification?
Yes, you can ask your bank to add TravelPerk as a trusted payment provider. Depending on the bank's regulation, you may be able to reduce the possibility of your trips being subject to verification by doing this, but it does depend entirely on the bank's rules. We suggest asking your bank what restrictions are removed when adding TravelPerk as a trusted payment provider.
Does the type of credit card matter? We use only a specific type of card e.g. AMEX
Yes, the type of card could matter. For example, AMEX has its own card circuit. So, whether the transaction will be subjected to verification, in this case, depends on the card and not necessarily the bank. You can contact your card issuer to get more information on modifying the 3DS restrictions and potentially remove them fully. At the moment, AMEX is the only card issuer we have identified with its own card circuit.
I've contacted my bank to add TravelPerk as a trusted partner, but they said it's TravelPerk's responsibility—what should I do?
As mentioned before, we haven't chosen to implement the 3DS verification—rather, it's a regulatory rule from the EU. Whether a trip will be subjected to verification entirely depends on the bank that has issued the card. Unfortuantely, we have no control over the verification identifiers.