A simple, high-trust pickup workflow( 5 steps)
1. Customer Record Create the customer in your payments system and note intended payer, pickup location, driver name, and vehicle / trailer VIN if available. Your processor should be able to set up these custom, reportable fields.
2. 3DS-Enabled Payment Link Email a secure invoice link. The buyer pays from their phone or computer; the gateway runs Payer Authentication in the background( or prompts a brief challenge). No card numbers over the phone.
3. Approval & Hold Confirm 3DS authenticated and funds authorized. If your software supports it, tokenize the card for any balance payments( note: tokenization alone doesn’ t confer liability shift— pair it with initial 3DS).
4. Controlled Release At pickup, verify the named driver and order details; capture a photo of the driver with the unit, the order paperwork, and( optionally) license plate. Keep this with the ticket.
5. Document & Close Store the 3DS authentication result, invoice, and pickup records together. If there’ s a dispute, you can show the issuer:( a) the cardholder authenticated and( b) you released to the authorized agent.
Red flags worth pausing for Rush requests(“ must pick up today”) with unfamiliar buyers. Third-party transporters with no prior relationship and no consistent contact info. Multiple cards declined, then a different card succeeds— especially if the name or billing address changes. Requests to split a large purchase across several cards without a clear reason. Phone numbers, email domains, and billing ZIP codes that don’ t match the buyer’ s story.
When you see two or more of these, route the transaction through a 3DS challenge( not just frictionless). If the customer balks, consider requiring an in-person chip-card payment before release.
What about tokenized“ card-on-file” and deposits? Tokenization is essential for security and follow-on payments, but it’ s not a substitute for authenticating the first transaction. The cleaner pattern is: authenticate the initial payment with 3DS, then schedule additional merchant-initiated charges against the token per your contract. Your provider should help you code these correctly so downstream charges are recognized as subsequent installments for the same order.
A note on economics Fraud losses don’ t end at the ticket price. Add staff time, chargeback fees, lost inventory, and transport logistics, and the true cost is often 10 – 20 % higher than the sticker loss. Tightening your flow with 3DS and a clearer release policy usually takes minutes to implement and— based on what we’ ve seen— pays for itself the first time a high-ticket fraudulent order is stopped.
Scott McFarland is President of Allegiance Merchant Services and a 26-year veteran of the payment processing industry. Allegiance serves NATDA members with exclusive member benefits, helping dealers modernize card-not-present workflows, deploy 3-D Secure 2.0, and reduce fraud and chargebacks while keeping day-to-day operations simple.
Editorial note: This article focuses on general best practices. Dealers should consult their legal and payments providers on policy language, network rules, and the specifics of liability shift for their mix of transactions.
36 NATDA Magazine