Head of Compliance
Online fraud is rising in Japan, and new updates to the country’s Credit Card Security Guidelines mean businesses can no longer afford to delay stronger protections. Most notable is the mandate set by the Japan Consumer Credit Association stating that 3D Secure is required for most online transactions by March 2025.
3D Secure is a modern security protocol that adds an extra layer of authentication to credit card and debit card payments, helping prevent fraudulent transactions and shift liability away from merchants. With e-commerce and online shopping growing fast—especially for recurring payments, corporate cards, and cross-border transactions—these changes will affect businesses of all sizes.
In this article, we’ll cover:
3D Secure (or 3DS) is a security protocol designed to prevent unauthorized transactions during online payments by verifying that the person entering the card details is actually the cardholder.
It adds an extra layer of real-time authentication during checkout—typically through a one-time password, biometric approval, or a prompt in the card issuer’s app or website. This process helps reduce fraud and shift liability away from merchants in the event of a fraudulent card payment.
Here’s what happens during a 3D Secure authentication flow:
This process usually takes just a few seconds but dramatically reduces the likelihood of fraudulent payments, especially in high-volume digital sales environments.
In markets like Europe, 3DS adoption has already been driven by strong customer authentication mandates. But in Japan, the urgency has grown due to a wave of rising credit card fraud and increased pressure from regulators.
With more consumers making online purchases, traditional protections like CVVs or physical card checks are no longer enough. 3D Secure fills that gap with dynamic, context-aware authentication flows that are much harder to bypass.
This has resulted in stronger fraud prevention, more secure credit card information handling, and a growing expectation among card brands and merchants that 3DS should be part of any serious fraud detection system.
In March 2024, Japan’s Credit Transaction Security Measures Council—under the guidance of the Japan Consumer Credit Association and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)—released an updated version of the country’s Credit Card Security Guidelines.
These revisions mark a turning point for online commerce in Japan—shifting the responsibility for fraud prevention onto businesses themselves, and making robust security measures a legal and operational necessity across the entire payments ecosystem.
The Credit Card Security Guidelines outline the responsibilities of businesses involved in Japanese credit card transactions, including:
They serve as practical guidance for compliance with the Installment Sales Act, and are designed to strengthen fraud detection, protect cardholder data, and reduce the impact of fraudulent transactions across both domestic and cross-border transactions.
There are two major areas of change:
The shift for each stakeholder marks the transition toward industry-wide standardization of strong customer authentication in Japan—bringing the country in line with global expectations for online payment security.
The revised Credit Card Security Guidelines don’t just set a deadline—they reset expectations across the entire payment ecosystem. For businesses operating in Japan’s digital economy, especially those processing online payments, this is a signal that fraud prevention is becoming a shared responsibility—and a strategic advantage.
E-commerce merchants that have experienced fraudulent use or frequent chargebacks are expected to begin implementing EMV 3-D Secure immediately. Others have until March 2025 to roll out compliant systems—but regulators recommend starting well in advance to avoid late-stage implementation risks.
Meanwhile, payment service providers and acquirers are expected to guide their merchant portfolios through this transition, embedding 3DS into onboarding flows and compliance checklists. For credit card issuers, the bar is even higher: reaching 80% enrollment, replacing static passwords, and supporting secure, modern authentication flows. In short, every stakeholder has a role to play—and early adopters stand to benefit the most, both in terms of fraud reduction and long-term operational stability.
For Japanese businesses, implementing 3D Secure isn’t just about meeting regulatory deadlines—it’s about protecting revenue, reducing risk, and earning customer trust in an increasingly digital and fraud-prone market. As credit card fraud becomes more sophisticated, strong customer authentication has become essential for anyone handling online sales and card-not-present transactions.
At its core, 3D Secure helps prevent fraudulent transactions before they happen. When a transaction is authenticated through 3DS, liability for fraudulent card payments shifts from the merchant to the card issuer. This not only reduces chargebacks but also helps protect your brand from the long-term impact of data breaches and customer disputes. With 3DS2’s risk-based authentication, most legitimate users experience no friction at all—just a seamless, secure checkout experience.
As a business owner, it’s vital to see how complying with Credit Card Security Guidelines is not just about ticking boxes, but delivering real protection to customers. A nice side effect is this also positions your business as credible and forward-looking. Early adopters can use 3D Secure to future-proof their infrastructure as regulators and card brands push for stronger authentication flows. As the market continues to evolve in response to growing online shopping, evolving security expectations, and pressure from governments, businesses that move early will be better equipped to compete—both locally and in cross-border transactions.
Implementing 3D Secure in Japan doesn’t have to be complex, restrictive, or risky. Dynamic solutions are available that offer a purpose-built authentication service designed to help businesses meet the mandate in Japan—without locking themselves into rigid infrastructure or slowing down their payments stack. With a lightweight, developer-first approach, Evervault gives you everything you need to become compliant, stay flexible, and protect consumers in a high-risk digital landscape.
Most 3D Secure implementations are tied directly to a payment service provider or card issuer's website, which can limit your options and complicate integration across platforms. Evervault works differently—it operates as a standalone layer that sits cleanly alongside your existing payment stack, regardless of which acquirer, PSP, or card brand (like Visa, Mastercard, or Diners Club) you’re working with.
This architecture gives you the flexibility to deploy EMV 3-D Secure, manage custom authentication logic, and adapt to future regulatory shifts from the Japan Credit Association or METI—all without disrupting your core payment infrastructure.
Evervault is built for compatibility—our 3DS service plugs into any PSP or acquirer. That means you're not tied to a specific provider’s roadmap or throttled by their performance.
You control the key points of authentication, including:
This also allows you to test and optimize for the latest version of 3DS without long contracts or infrastructure rework—especially important as new rules take effect in the coming consecutive months.
Evervault’s API was built with developers in mind. Integration is fast and simple: just drop in a few lines of code, define your risk logic, and go live.
We handle difficult backend elements such secure key management, protocol updates, and tokenization so you can focus on delivering smooth authentication flows and fast response times to your users. And because our platform is optimized for performance, your customers never experience clunky redirects or frustrating timeouts. That means fewer drop-offs, fewer support tickets, and a better experience for everyone.
Whether you're a small e-commerce brand or a high-volume merchant, Evervault is built to scale with you. As the March 2025 deadline has just been passed, more businesses will need to implement 3D Secure quickly and efficiently—often while juggling other compliance tasks and platform updates.
Evervault ensures you go beyond the minimum and that you’re set up for success long after compliance is achieved. The platform helps businesses combat fraud with smarter tools, including machine learning for pattern detection and adaptive risk scoring, so your 3DS deployment continues to evolve alongside your threat landscape.
The March 2025 deadline for implementing EMV 3-D Secure has officially passed—but the real work for businesses in Japan is just beginning. As regulators begin to enforce the updated Credit Card Security Guidelines, companies that haven't yet adopted 3DS face increased exposure to fraudulent transactions, operational risk, and potential fallout with partners and providers. For those that have implemented it, the focus now shifts to optimization—making sure their authentication flows are reliable and ready to scale with evolving fraud threats.
By implementing 3D Secure now, you reduce your exposure to fraudulent transactions and align with the latest expectations from the Japan Credit Association, card issuers, and regulators like METI. You also position your brand as trustworthy—especially important in a market where prepaid cards and recurring payments are increasingly common in consumer behavior.
Evervault can help take the complexity out of navigating the new guidelines. With a developer-friendly authentication service, no vendor lock-in, and a clear path to compliance, it’s the fastest way to adopt the latest version of 3DS and future-proof your authentication flows. Whether you're a merchant, PSP, or issuer, the message is clear: now is the time to act.
Evervault’s standalone 3D-Secure Server lets merchants and payment service providers authenticate payments, shift liability and comply with regulations like Strong Customer Authentication.
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