Global payment firms MasterCard and Visa have decided to remove the 3D Secure from 2015, replacing it with the ‘next-generation’ systems based on biometrics and token-based prompts, it emerged this week.

Mastercard and Visa payments systems are used in almost every region globally, including in most territories in Africa.

“All of us want a payment experience that is safe as well as simple, not one or the other,” Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise security solutions at MasterCard, told The Guardian. “We want to identify people for who they are, not what they remember. We have too many passwords to remember and this creates extra problems for consumers and businesses”.

He said the new standard will move security infrastructure beyond the PC era, supporting emerging technologies and changing consumer needs.
The dated 3D Secure had never been an overly popular security measure for many shoppers.

Appearing as a way to verify a card purchase online, it essentially got in the way of crafting a pleasant e-Commerce experience due to users having to fill out password boxes on tiny screens and recall the name of their 4th pet to make their purchase, according to Total Payments.

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