ComBank raises the bar for payments authentication in Sri Lanka with Visa

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first bank in Sri Lanka to deploy EMV 3DS fraud prevention technology in collaboration with Visa for authenticating payments made by Credit, Debit and Pre-paid cards issued by the Bank.

EMV 3D Secure is a global protocol specification released by EMVCo, that enables consumer authentication without adding unnecessary friction to the payment process, the bank said in a media release. With this development, the OTP (One Time Password) sending function has been made more robust and secure, ensuring customer convenience and safety.

This authentication process involves the merchant sending certain data needed to validate a transaction to the card issuer. The bank has the capability to enable low-risk purchases to be completed through the frictionless flow, facilitating speedy authentication by reducing page redirects and entering the information before payment. Potentially risky purchases on the other hand, will prompt cardholders to complete additional authentication through SMS, security questions and other mechanisms such as e mails in order to avoid fraud and validate the transaction.

The bank said the new EMV 3DS feature from Visa Secure offers risk-based authentication and frictionless processing, further reducing the possibilities of e-commerce frauds and authentication failures.

The EMV 3DS specifications provide a common set of requirements that product providers can use to integrate this technology into their solutions. The specifications support app-based authentication and integration with digital wallets, as well as traditional browser-based e-commerce transactions.

“Security is one of the top priorities in digital payment transactions, but it must not be a cumbersome process that inconveniences customers,” Commercial Bank’s Deputy General Manager, Marketing Hasrath Munasinghe commented. “With EMV 3DS we have truly state-of-the-art security protocols combined with flexibility to eliminate check-out friction by ensuring seamless and ultra-fast authentication with minimal inputs by the cardholder.”

Ms. Avanthi Colombage, Country Manager – Sri Lanka and Maldives, Visa said: “With e-commerce in Sri Lanka making a steady climb, the past year has seen numerous new consumers enter the digital commerce ambit, making it pertinent for e-tailers to balance elegant user experiences with superior transaction security.”