American Express SafeKey

American Express SafeKey is the authentication service in the American Express card network that uses the 3-D Secure protocol to validate customers at checkout. When you request an authorization using a supported card type and a supported processor, you can include payer authentication data in the request.

Prerequisite

Before implementing payer authentication for American Express SafeKey, contact customer support to have your account configured for this feature.

Supported Processors

American Express Direct
Barclays
Chase Paymentech Solutions
Chase Tandem
Elavon Americas
FDC Compass
FDC Nashville Global
JCN Gateway
Worldpay VAP

Chase Paymentech Solutions
Elavon Americas
FDC Nashville Global
Worldpay VAP

Barclays

Processor-Specific Requirements

Visa Platform Connect

processingInformation.authorizationOptions.transaction - Required only for merchants in Saudi Arabia.

Processor-Specific Requirements

Visa Platform Connect

processingInformation.authorizationOptions.transaction - Required only for merchants in Saudi Arabia.

Fields Specific to the American Express SafeKey Use Case

These API fields are required specifically for this use case.

consumerAuthenticationInformation.cavv Required

Required when payer authentication is successful.

processingInformation.commerceIndicator Required

Set this field to one of these values:

aesk: successful authentication (3-D Secure value of 05).
aesk_attempted: authentication was attempted (3-D Secure value of 06).
internet: authentication failed or was not attempted (3-D Secure value of 07).

Endpoints

POST /pts/v2/payments

Example

{  "clientReferenceInformation": {    "code": "TC50171_3"  },  "processingInformation": {    "commerceIndicator": "aesk"  },  "paymentInformation": {    "card": {      "number": "3400000XXXXXXX8",      "expirationMonth": "01",      "expirationYear": "2025"    }  },  "orderInformation": {    "amountDetails": {      "totalAmount": "100",      "currency": "USD"    },    "billTo": {      "firstName": "John",      "lastName": "Smith",      "address1": "201 S. Division St._1",      "locality": "Foster City",      "administrativeArea": "CA",      "postalCode": "94404",      "country": "US",      "email": "[email protected]",      "phoneNumber": "6504327113"    }  },  "consumerAuthenticationInformation": {    "cavv": "1234567890987654321ABCDEFabcdefABCDEF123",    "xid": "1234567890987654321ABCDEFabcdefABCDEF123"  }}

{  "_links": {    "authReversal": {      "method": "POST",      "href": "/pts/v2/payments/6783071542936193303955/reversals"    },    "self": {      "method": "GET",      "href": "/pts/v2/payments/6783071542936193303955"    },    "capture": {      "method": "POST",      "href": "/pts/v2/payments/6783071542936193303955/captures"    }  },  "clientReferenceInformation": {    "code": "TC50171_3"  },  "id": "6783071542936193303955",  "orderInformation": {    "amountDetails": {      "authorizedAmount": "100.00",      "currency": "USD"    }  },  "paymentAccountInformation": {    "card": {      "type": "003"    }  },  "paymentInformation": {    "accountFeatures": {      "currency": "usd",      "balanceAmount": "70.00"    },    "tokenizedCard": {      "type": "003"    },    "card": {      "type": "003"    }  },  "pointOfSaleInformation": {    "terminalId": "111111"  },  "processorInformation": {    "approvalCode": "888888",    "networkTransactionId": "123456789619999",    "transactionId": "123456789619999",    "responseCode": "100",    "avs": {      "code": "X",      "codeRaw": "I1"    }  },  "reconciliationId": "62427259FEYR18Q2",  "status": "AUTHORIZED",  "submitTimeUtc": "2023-03-08T20:25:54Z"}

Required Fields

These fields must be included in a request for an authorization with American Express SafeKey. The values for these fields are in the response from the payer authentication validate service. When you request the payer authentication validate and authorization services together, the data is automatically passed from one service to the other.

Field	Description
`clientReferenceInformation.code`	Order reference or tracking number. Provide a unique value for each transaction so that you can perform meaningful searches for the transaction.
`consumerAuthenticationInformation.cavv`	—
`consumerAuthenticationInformation.eciRaw`	Required when the payer authentication validation service returns a raw unmapped `ECI` value.
`orderInformation.amountDetails.currency`	For RuPay HDFC: Set the value to `INR`. For Vero: Vero supports Brazilian real (BRL) currency only.
`orderInformation.amountDetails.totalAmount`	—
`orderInformation.billTo.address1`	—
`orderInformation.billTo.administrativeArea`	—
`orderInformation.billTo.country`	—
`orderInformation.billTo.email`	—
`orderInformation.billTo.firstName`	—
`orderInformation.billTo.lastName`	—
`orderInformation.billTo.locality`	—
`orderInformation.billTo.postalCode`	—
`paymentInformation.card.expirationMonth`	—
`paymentInformation.card.expirationYear`	—
`paymentInformation.card.number`	—
`paymentInformation.card.type`	—
`processingInformation.commerceIndicator`	Set this field to one of these values: `aesk` for successful authentication (3-D Secure value of `05`), `aesk_attempted` when authentication was attempted (3-D Secure value of `06`), or `internet` when authentication failed or was not attempted (3-D Secure value of `07`).

Optional Field

This field is optional in a request for an authorization with American Express SafeKey. The value for this field is in the response from the payer authentication validate service. When you request the payer authentication validate and authorization services together, the data is automatically passed from one service to the other.

Optional Field

Field	Description
`consumerAuthenticationInformation.xid`	—

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Last published: September 29, 2026