We are upgrading our payment security standards to better protect your business and your guests from fraud. This enhancement affects all properties using Cloudbeds Payments or Stripe Direct.
To increase security and improve the success rate of transactions, the system will now more frequently trigger a security confirmation step - 3-D Secure (3DS) - when you manually add a guest's credit card to a reservation.
What is Happening?
When you or your staff manually enter a guest's credit card details into the Cloudbeds PMS interface, the system will now automatically trigger a 3-D Secure (3DS) confirmation request.
- This request is sent as an email directly to the guest.
- The guest must open the email and confirm the charge via a secure prompt from their bank.
This change is part of an industry-wide security measure and will result in a noticeable increase in the number of 3DS confirmation emails sent to your guests when staff manually adds a card.
Why is This Change Happening?
This security enhancement is being implemented for two critical reasons:
- Reduce Fraud: By requiring the cardholder to authenticate the transaction, we significantly reduce the risk of fraud and unauthorized charges.
- Improve Authorization Rates: Transactions that pass 3DS authentication are more likely to be accepted by the guest's bank, leading to fewer failed payments and a smoother collection process for your property.
What Does This Mean for Your Staff and Guests?
This change introduces a new step in your workflow when manually adding cards:
|
Step 1: Staff Action -> Staff manually enters the guest's card details into MFD to process a payment. |
Step 2: System Status -> A pending transaction is immediately created on the folio. |
Step 3: Guest Action Required The guest receives a 3DS confirmation email and must click the link to authenticate the payment with their bank. |
| Final Result -> | Successful: Pending transaction becomes POSTED payment. | Unsuccessful: Pending transaction disappears, and the card cannot be used for future payments until re-entered. |
Important Notes for Staff
- Pending Status: After entering the card, the charge will appear as pending on the folio. It will only convert to a posted payment after the guest successfully completes the 3DS confirmation via their email.
- Declined Payments: If the guest fails to complete the 3DS authentication, the pending transaction will disappear from the folio, and the card will become un-processable in MFD. You will need to re-add the card and start the process over.
- Existing Pending Payments: If a 3DS email has already been sent for a card and the guest hasn't acted yet, the system will remind your staff of the pending action and will not create a new pending transaction for that card.
Best Practice: Using Pay by Link
For remote payments where staff are adding a card or taking payment over the phone, we highly recommend using the Pay by Link feature with Cloudbeds Payments. Pay by Link is a simple, secure tool that sends a payment request directly to the guest, shifting the responsibility of secure card entry and 3DS authentication to them.
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