Entersekt, an innovator in mobile-first fintech solutions, today announced it has gained EMVCo certification for its 3-D Secure 2 access control server. EMVCo is a payments industry consortium managing global specifications for secure card-based e-commerce transactions.

Entersekt has offered a 3-D Secure access control server (ACS) for many years. Its mobile-optimised solution was among the first to be accredited by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. It has proved popular among consumers in Europe and South Africa, who continue to enjoy the password-free, one-touch experience it makes possible.

"Several years ago, Entersekt was the first company in Africa to earn accreditation for its ACS from all three of the big card networks," recalled Entersekt's SVP products Niel Bester of an early milestone in the company's history. "This time around, with 3-D Secure 2, I'm pleased to see we are not only the first in Africa, but fifteenth in the world. Congratulations, team, this yet again demonstrates our expertise in mobile-first e-commerce authentication."

Over the last eight months, Entersekt worked closely with industry stakeholders to ensure that its 3-D Secure 2 solution was among the first to be certified by EMVCo. The ACS forms part of Connekt, Entersekt's commerce enablement product. As such, it comes bundled with a set of APIs enabling a large and growing number of in-app mobile payments services.

"Our solution is more than just an access control server and mobile-first authentication process," said Schalk Nolte, Entersekt's CEO. "It's a whole new set of payments experiences waiting to be switched on in the card issuer's app.

Adoption of the first 3-D Secure protocol was, at best, patchy, but this version promises to make a bigger impact, faster, owing to the attention EMVCo gave to reducing friction in the online shopping process. Merchants are particularly interested in implementing the specification on mobile, possibly integrated with digital wallets and app-based transactions.