> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # 3DS Abandonment Rate, Square > 3DS Abandonment Rate for Square stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Supporting Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Payment Gateway](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Percentage of Square Online checkouts that hit a 3DS 2 challenge and the customer **abandoned** (did not complete the bank popup). NOT the same as decline (issuer rejected). Different fix: abandons need UX work; declines need issuer-side analysis. Square Online uses 3DS 2 for SCA-required EU traffic and for high-risk US traffic. | | | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **What it counts** | `COUNT(status = CANCELED AND last_error_message contains '3DS') / COUNT(3DS challenges issued) * 100`. | | **API endpoint** | `/v2/payments` filtered to online (`source_type = EXTERNAL`); 3DS challenge state in payment metadata. | | **POS coverage** | None; POS uses chip + PIN, not 3DS. This card is online-only. | | **Currency** | Currency-neutral. | | **Time window** | `7D vsP`. | | **Alert trigger** | `>15%` absolute on EU traffic, `>10%` on US. Sentiment inverse-gauge: good \<=15, warn >=30. | | **Roles** | owner, finance, operations | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your Square data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example 7 days of Square Online for a US-EU dual-market DTC brand: | Region | Sessions | 3DS frictionless | 3DS challenged | Of challenged: completed | Of challenged: abandoned | | -------------------------- | -------- | ---------------- | -------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------ | | US (low-risk default) | 412 | 392 | 20 | 17 | 3 (15.0%) | | EU (SCA mandatory >EUR 30) | 158 | 122 | 36 | 31 | 5 (13.9%) | ```text theme={null} Blended abandon rate (this card) = 8 / 56 = 14.3% ``` Reads: 1. **EU 13.9% is at the alert threshold.** PSD2 SCA forces 3DS challenges; abandon rates of 8, 15% are typical. 2. **US 15% on a small base (3 / 20) is noisy.** Don't over-react below 50 challenges per week. 3. **Frictionless rate matters more.** 392 of 412 US sessions skipped 3DS entirely (95.1% frictionless); 122 of 158 EU did (77.2%). 4. **Square Risk Manager interaction.** Square Risk can pre-emptively decline high-risk traffic before 3DS even fires; that suppresses both the challenge count and the abandon rate. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [`squ_decline_rate`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/square/decline-rate) | Different metric, different fix. | | [`squ_success_rate`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/square/success-rate) | Abandons depress success rate. | | [`squ_top_decline_reasons`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/square/top-decline-reasons) | If `PAYER_AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED` shows up as a decline reason, it's 3DS-failure adjacent. | | Stripe [`stripe_threedsecure_abandon_rate`](/nerve-centre/stripe/stripe_threedsecure_abandon_rate) | Cross-PSP comparison. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in the Square Dashboard:** Square does not surface 3DS abandon as a headline KPI. Use **Reports → Transactions** filtered to `Status: Cancelled` and inspect failure messages. The Risk Manager dashboard shows challenge-issuance counts. **Why ours may differ:** | Reason | Direction | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Definition | Some Dashboard views count "all cancellations" not just 3DS abandons; ours filters to 3DS specifically | | Late completion | A challenge completed hours later flips Cancelled→Completed retroactively | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** Stripe and Square 3DS abandon rates for the same business should be comparable in absolute terms (the 3DS protocol is shared); divergence usually reflects different challenge-trigger thresholds in the two PSPs' risk engines. ## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **"My EU abandon rate is 20%, what's wrong?"** Three common causes: (1) the bank popup is in English when the customer browses in French / German / Italian, (2) the return URL after challenge looks broken (popup-blocker scenarios), (3) the merchant's 3DS branding doesn't match (customer thinks it's phishing). Check the locale setting first. **"US abandon rate of 5%, is that normal?"** US 3DS is mostly issuer-driven (no SCA mandate). 5% is normal; \<3% suggests challenges are very low-volume so the metric is noisy. **"Can I reduce challenges by tweaking SCA exemptions?"** On EU traffic: low-value (\EUR 30; in US the issuer decides. **"What about Square Subscription rebills, do they 3DS?"** Mostly no. Recurring transactions qualify for the MIT (merchant-initiated transaction) exemption from SCA. The first transaction (when mandate is set up) goes through 3DS; subsequent rebills are exempt. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *3DS Abandonment Rate* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Square and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. 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