One of the biggest benefits of EMV 3-D Secure is the chargeback liability shift. It shifts the liability for chargebacks due to fraud from the Merchant to the cardholder’s bank.

Card issuers who participate in the EMV 3-D Secure program offer Merchants a guarantee of payment for successful online transactions that have also been authenticated using EMV 3-D Secure. This means that if there is a dispute or chargeback for a transaction for fraud reasons (for example, if a lost or stolen card is successfully used to complete a transaction where EMV 3-D Secure is in place) there is a liability shift from the Merchant to the card issuer for that transaction. This is referred to as “liability shift”. For specific rules on liability shift, refer to your agreement with the card scheme.

However, if an SCA exemption has been requested and approved by the bank these do not shift liability from the Merchant. The only way to obtain a liability shift is through a successfully authenticated EMV 3-D Secure transaction.

Please note EMV 3-D Secure protects against fraud related disputes. It does not protect against all chargeback disputes i.e. non-fraud related disputes such as goods / service not being as described or non-delivery related disputes.