To help credit card issuers reduce their risk of e-commerce fraud, Visa has launched the Visa Consumer Authentication Service. The service uses real-time, risk-based transaction analysis to authenticate consumers.

As consumers go through the online checkout process, the service looks at various measures, including device and transaction information and historical spending patterns. It assesses the risk of the consumer, and in the case of low risk e-commerce transactions, the system approves them without requiring the need for a password or other verification identifier. For risky purchases, consumers will still have to provide verification.

The authentication service uses risk-based authentication through account enhanced inputs, as well as supporting a variety of account holder authentication methods, including one-time passwords or hardware tokens. The service can also work through mobile phones and tablets. Issuers may even customize the service to their own needs by implementing further rules around risk decisions.

Issuers may sign up for the service through Visa.