3DS Requestor-Initiated Authentication (3RI) allows merchants to perform a new 3D Secure authentication when the cardholder is no longer present. The 3RI authentication is linked to a previously authenticated cardholder-initiated transaction (CIT), enabling merchants to securely authenticate future transactions without requiring the customer to return to the checkout flow.

3RI can be used to support a wide range of merchant-initiated payment scenarios, including subscriptions, split payments, delayed charges and other merchant-initiated scenarios. By performing a new authentication for these transactions, merchants can reduce fraud & chargeback exposure compared to traditional unauthenticated merchant-initiated transaction (MIT) flows.

How 3RI Works

A typical 3RI flow consists of the following steps:

1. The customer performs an initial cardholder-initiated transaction (CIT).
2. The transaction is authenticated using 3D Secure.
3. The merchant stores the resulting transaction reference.
4. At a later date, the merchant initiates a 3RI authentication.
5. Datatrans performs the 3RI authentication and returns a new set of authentication data.
6. The merchant can then proceed with payment authorisation using the resulting authentication data – whether using the AUTHORIZE endpoint or via a third-party gateway

Supported 3RI Scenarios

Datatrans 3RI authentication support includes the following scenarios:

• Split Payments: Initial deposit followed by one or more subsequent payments, such as a hotel booking or travel reservation.
• Multi-party commerce: A single customer transaction that results in multiple subsequent payments to different merchants, such as a travel booking covering flights, accommodation and car hire.
• Unscheduled Credential-on-File (UCOF): Future transactions where the amount or timing is not known during the initial customer interaction, such as no-show charges, post-purchase adjustments or additional service fees.
• Recurring subscriptions: Regular payments for subscription or membership services.
• Delayed charges: Charges applied after the original customer purchase has been completed.
  The appropriate 3RI use case is identified during the authentication request and allows issuers to understand the purpose of the merchant-initiated transaction.

Integration

A 3RI authentication request always references a previously authenticated transaction.

During the request, the merchant supplies the original transaction reference together with the required 3RI use case information. Datatrans automatically performs the required 3D Secure processing and returns the resulting authentication data in the response. This data can then be used to authorise the transaction in the gateway.

An example Request/Response is shown below (refer to the API Reference for a detailed description of all required and optional fields).

curl -L -X POST 'https://api.sandbox.datatrans.com/v1/transactions/3RI/multipleAuthentication/{{transactionId}}' 
-H 'Authorization: Authorization: Basic {{basicAuth}}' 
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' 
--data-raw '{
    "refno": "3RItest",
    "currency": "EUR",
    "amount": 500,
    "threeRIInd": "06",
    "multiMerchantName": "MerchantB"
}
'

{
    "transactionId": "241682106922344246",
    "3D": {
        "eci": "05",
        "dsTransId": "213f3d94-7328-4f84-88de-ba1c761d4135",
        "threeDSTransactionId": "edeba639-2e2a-4d21-99b6-bc605a7d20e8",
        "cavv": "AJklkhCBHgkslKKKAH0l4MXdQAAAAA=",
        "threeDSVersion": "2.2.0",
        "directoryResponse": "Y",
        "authenticationResponse": "Y"
    }
}

Getting started

3RI is available as an optional Datatrans capability for merchants who require merchant-initiated authentication flows.
To discuss 3RI for your account, contact us or speak to your Datatrans representative.