Hi everyone,
The Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry has mandated that all eCommerce credit card transactions processed in Japan must comply with EMV 3-D Secure by March 31, 2025.
What is EMV 3-D Secure?
EMV 3-D Secure, also known as 3DS, is an additional layer of security for online shopping that will require buyers to authenticate their identity when making purchases with credit cards from Japanese businesses. While most online transactions will require 3DS authentication, certain types (such as recurring payments or prepaid cards) may be exempt depending on the regulatory guidelines.
New Payment Flow for EMV 3-D Secure Compliance
To meet the 3DS mandate by March 31, 2025, Square developers serving sellers in Japan that are integrated with the Web Payments SDK and Payments API will need their apps to support buyer verification.
If you are impacted, we have introduced a new payment flow to help you comply. Square will determine METI regulatory scope for each payment, and apply 3DS authentication as needed per the mandate. This new payment flow is in beta, but even if you implement it now, there will be no breaking changes or further updates needed when it transitions to GA.
Check out the docs.
Do I need to call verifyBuyer?
No, you do not need to call verifyBuyer or build logic to determine if and when buyer verification is required for a payment. Our new payment flow is designed to replace verifyBuyer, which we plan to eventually retire. It will handle all the necessary logic, providing you with a simpler experience and making payment processing easier and more secure.
For the latest information on Japan’s credit card security guidelines and 3DS mandate, you can learn more here.
As always, please feel free to ask any questions.