Visa has updated the Visa Secure data field mandate, originally announced in the 31 August 2023 edition of the Visa Business News. The effective date for these changes has been extended to 12 August 2024, and the number of required data fields has been reduced.
Visa announced changes to the Visa Secure Program Guide, a Visa Supplemental Requirements document, in AI13277 of the 31 August 2023 edition of the Visa Business News. These changes added 12 required data fields, scheduled to be effective from 12 February 2024.
After considering feedback from the ecosystem and conducting further analysis, Visa has decided to reduce the number of required data fields. For browser transactions, only five data fields will be required, while in-app transactions will only require three data fields. Furthermore, Visa has updated the effective date for these changes to 12 August 2024 to give the ecosystem more time to prepare.
It’s important to note that the newly required data fields apply only to standard Visa Secure EMV® 3-D Secure (3DS) payment transactions (PAs). Non-payment transactions (NPAs) and 3DS requestor-initiated (3RI) transactions are exempt from these additional data field requirements. Additionally, the Visa Secure data field mandate does not apply to Digital Authentication Framework (DAF) transactions.
Visa reminds merchants that they must ensure the provision of the required data fields for EMV 3DS AReq messages by 12 August 2024.
Source: Visa Business News 04 January 2024 – Article ID: AI13666
So… Is Search Dead?
Absolutely not. Search just got a promotion (or a demotion, depending on how you look at it).
Search used to be the creator of demand. Now, it’s the converter of demand.
When discovery does its job, customers search for your brand name or that specific product feature they just saw. If you aren’t bidding on those defensive brand terms, you’re handing your own customers to your competitors.
Remember: Discovery plants the seed. Search reaps the harvest.
3 Actionable Shifts for Your E-commerce Team
If you want to win in this new landscape, here’s what needs to change in your strategy:
1. Break Down the Silos
Your content team, media buyer, and merchandiser need to talk to each other. Why? Because AI algorithms rank your product based on content quality, pricing, stock levels, and reviews—not just your bid. Your ad spend can’t fix a bad product page.
2. Unify Your Signal View
Stop looking at each platform’s dashboard in isolation. Start tracking your Brand Search Volume across all platforms. If your social campaigns are working, you’ll see a direct lift in branded search queries. That’s the halo effect of discovery.
3. Upgrade Your KPIs
Ditch the obsession with “last-click attribution.” Start measuring Incremental ROAS (iROAS) and the growth of your category ranking. You need to give credit to the touchpoints that created the demand, not just the one that closed the sale.
Bottom Line: Rethink Your Keyword Strategy
Today’s shoppers don’t search like robots; they search like humans who just saw a cool product. They’ll type things like “ergonomic chair for back pain” instead of just “office chair.”
Your keyword lists must expand to capture these natural language queries. Furthermore, defensive bidding on your own brand name is no longer optional—it’s survival.
The battle for e-commerce supremacy in 2026 is won or lost before the search button is clicked.
It’s time to stop being a traffic interceptor and start being a discovery guide. Are you ready?