Handling subscription renewals that require 3D Secure (3DS) verification

Some subscription renewals require additional customer authentication to be successfully processed. This article explains what 3D Secure (3DS) is and how Skio handles subscriptions that require 3DS verification.

What is 3D Secure (3DS)?

3D Secure (3DS) is an industry standard for payment authentication designed to reduce fraud and add an extra layer of security for online card transactions. Depending on the customer’s bank, 3DS may require them to verify a payment via a one-time password, fingerprint, or app-based confirmation.

3DS is required for certain transactions based on factors such as card type, issuing bank policies, or regulations like the European Union’s Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).

What happens when a subscription requires 3DS verification?

When a Skio subscription renewal attempt requires 3DS verification:

• Customer notification via email: Shopify and Skio automatically send emails to the subscriber notifying of the required 3DS verification. This notification contains a secure action URL and the customer must click this link to complete the verification.

  • The email notification will send once daily for a maximum of 14 days (unless you’ve configured your store settings to fail an order after X days) if the customer does not update their payment.

• Integration event available: If you prefer to trigger your own communication (e.g., push notification or SMS), Skio emits an integration event when a subscription enters the 3DS flow. You can use this to build custom messaging or workflows on your end.

• Automatic cancellation option
  In your Skio dashboard, there is a configurable setting to automatically cancel subscriptions that remain stuck in 3DS_PENDING status after a specified period. This helps avoid long-term inactive subscriptions and provides a cleaner customer experience.

• Subscription Status: 3DS_PENDINGSubscriptions awaiting customer verification will enter a special statusContext called 3DS_PENDING. While in this state:

  • The subscription will not renew.

  • The renewal will only proceed if the customer successfully completes the 3DS flow.

  • Manual actions by the customer (such as changing the next order date or using get now) will also resume the renewal process.

Cancel stale 3DS subscriptions

If a customer fails to update their payment method to complete 3DS verification, you can automatically cancel the affected subscriptions using the Stale 3DS Subscription Cancellation setting.

To access this setting:

1. In your Skio dashboard, click the Settings drop-down and select Billing & Orders.

2. Scroll down to the Stale 3DS subscription cancellation setting and input the number of days until a stale 3DS subscription is canceled.

3. Click Save changes.