Credit Card Error Swiss Travel Pass

klive0124

Hello, I’m trying to purchase a 8day swiss pass for myself and my family. I’ve tried multiple credit cards and the cards do not go through. I’ve contacted my bank and have been told it is not the bank that’s declining the purchase, it’s not even showing up. Is there another safe website I can purchase the swiss pass from?

Danhiel

Hello klive0124

I think that you want to purchase Swiss Travel Passes.

Is 3-D Secure enabled on your cards? Banks sometimes use outdated technology that is no longer supported.

You could create a PayPal account to avoid this check and buy the passes on oebb.at (Austrian Railways).

If you have children under 16 don’t forget to add their names and dates of birth to get a free Swiss Family Card.

Kind regards
Danhiel

klive0124

Danhiel Hello Danhiel, I contacted my bank and visa, they said my credit cards are 3D secure enabled. They are not declining the charge and do not see it on their side. They said it is a problem with the vendor, that the vendor may not be using 3D secure or some other older method. I travel to Switzerland on August 7th, would it be a problem to buy my swiss pass when I arrive? Do they sell out? or is there a verification process I need to go through before I arrived? I’ve already linked my passport and photo to SBB, but my wife and daughter have not. Not sure if they have to since I will be purchasing the Swiss Family pass. I appreciate your help with this.

Danhiel

klive0124

Another idea: did you try with another browser? Did you already use 3-D Secure with other vendors without problem? SBB sell thousands of tickets every day, it cannot be a general issue. You have probably anything that is not compatible on your computer.

No photo is required to buy Swiss Travel Passes; you must show your physical passports in the train to verify that the names on the tickets match. Photos are needed only for SwissPass cards used by Swiss residents; this is a common confusion.

Swiss Travel Passes never sell out and you can buy them at the ticket office after your arrival. I think that you must show your passports, because the vendor has to add the names and dates of birth on the tickets.

Nicole_B

Hello klive0124

In which country was your Visa card issued by the issuer (bank)?

Kind regatds,
Nicole

klive0124

Danhiel Thanks for your input. I’ve tried all of that with no luck. I am going to purchase the Swiss Pass from Swiss Railways, I’ve read from others that had the same issue I was having that they had luck with Swiss Railways. Thanks again for your help.

klive0124

Hi Danhiel & Nicole, I was able to make other purchases with my card, I booked and paid for excursions in Switzerland with Switzerland vendors. My visa card was issued in the US. I’ve used my laptop, work PC & home computer. I’m going to purchase the Swiss Pass upon arrival. Thank you so much for taking time to try to help us with this. I truly appreciate it.

Nicole_B

Hello klive0124

If the problem was with the merchant, all Visa cards worldwide would be affected, not just individual cards from specific countries or from specific issuers (banks).

Therefore, I suspect that your Visa card does not support the technical standard EMV® 3D Secure (known as 3DS 2.x). This is a market standard in Switzerland and is widely implemented by most PSPs (Payment Service Providers) for security and interoperability reasons. SBB’s PSP requires this technical standard. However, since it is not legally required, it is quite possible that other PSPs have not implemented this technical standard and therefore payment was possible. In the EU, however, it is even legally required.

3DS2 Implementing / Support Overview (2025)

Although Visa and Mastercard officially discontinued support for 3D Secure 1.0 in 2022, this does not automatically mean that all issuers (banks) worldwide have fully switched to 3DS 2.x or are handling it correctly and such transactions are often automatically declined (silent errors):

Some foreign issuers (banks) run older Access Control Servers (ACS), which support 3DS2 nominal, but are still technically based on old 3DS1 backends or frameworks and behave like 3DS1 gateways.
Visa / Mastercard Directory Server is actually trying to mediate between 3DS2 and old foreign ACS systems. However, this mediation (3DS bridging) does not work reliably with incompatible or incorrectly configured ACS setups of the foreign issuers (banks). In case of compatibility problems there can be silent errors.

What can cardholders do when the 3D Secure process fails and the payment is declined?

Option 1: Use a different card

AMEX: American Express operates its own 3DS system (SafeKey), which is not tied to the Visa / Mastercard Directory Servers, but runs entirely within Amex. Since Amex is an Issuer, ACS and SafeKey platform, there are hardly any bridging problems. SafeKey works the same worldwide, unlike Visa / Mastercard, where Issuer (banks) implement these solutions differently.
Alternatively, try a Mastercard: Mastercard may offer more reliable 3DS bridging solutions between PSP and issuer than Visa.

Option 2: Contact your issuer (bank) – preferably in writing:

Ask whether the current card may still be connected via an outdated or only partially compatible ACS system.
Ask for a card with proven EMV 3DS 2.x support, including an active Access Control Server (ACS) that can correctly receive and respond to 3DS2 requests from european Payment Service Providers (e.g. via Visa or Mastercard Directory Server).

Kind regards,
Nicole