trying to buy tickets with several cards visa and mastercard

Thiemooputh35

Hello everyone,
Right now I’m trying to book tickets from Switzerland to Germany using SBB, but it doesn’t accept my cards for some reason. I can’t understand if the problem is on my side or on the side of SBB? I’m using EUR VISA and Mastercard cards issued by banks in EU.
Would be happy to recieve any comment! Thank you!

RedBaron

Hi Thiemooputh35
Such problems are usually 3D Secure related, but are generally more common wird cards issued in the Americas.
Assuming the 3DS features of your cards are enabled according to the usual EU standards, your issue might be of temporary nature, like some connection outage between the involved banks / payment providers.
In other words, try again.

Nicole_B

Hallo Thiemooputh35

If an EU payment card is declined, it is reasonable to assume that the cardholder has not (fully) set up 3DS 2FA for their account with the card issuer (2FA = two-factor authentication via an OTP sent by SMS or email from the card issuer or a confirmation within the card issuer’s app). If you have questions about the process, contact the card issuer’s customer support (Card Center, Customer Service). The phone number is usually found on the back of the payment card.

Other possible reasons include individual device settings:

Time not set to automatic
Active add-ons such as VPN, ad blockers, firewalls, proxies, etc. blocks datatransfer
Required cookies are blocked
Outdated browser version
Etc.

The simplest solution for 3DS issues is to use a different browser, a different device, and/or an alternative payment method (provided that 3DS is fully set up for the other payment cards).

As a general workaround for 3DS, you can also use SBB Mobile with Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Kind regards,
Nicole

Krist

Book this trip with Bahn in stead: www.bahn.de

SBB is rather pickier with credit cards than most other railways.

Thiemooputh35

Hi Krist

Thanks for the reply! Yes, just tried to buy tickets via DB and everything worked well in the end.

@RedBaron
@Nicole_B

Thanks for your answers. I was trying Revolute Mastercard and local Sparkasse VISA – none of them passed 3D Secure verification. Additionally the website showed me an error.
I use Firefox browser, everything updated, no VPNs, adblockers or popup window blockers are not actively enabled from my side.

Krist

RedBaron Such problems are usually 3D Secure related, but are generally more common wird cards issued in the Americas.

People from the Americas report no issues buying tickets from DB, Trenitalia, SNCF etc… Only with SBB there are constant issues…

Nicole_B

Hallo Krist

Is that your opinion, or can it be substantiated with verified transaction log data?
A quick search will also turn up posts about DB, Trenitalia, and SNCF:

You can also find identical posts regarding admission tickets for attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, museums, etc.

As far as I know, the main problem is that in countries without statutory 3DS regulations (or a 3DS market standard), different standards apply to online transactions. For example, (U.S.) card issuers try to bypass 2FA for 3DS because, in the U.S., it is not a market standard to additionally confirm an online payment using an OTP or the bank’s access app. Or 2FA is bypassed because the (U.S.) card issuer uses outdated 3DS1 gateways that do not (properly) support 3DS2. In Europe, on the other hand, 3DS2 with SCA (2FA) is mandatory. As a logical consequence, such online transactions fail when 2FA would be necessary for security reasons, but the foreign card issuer bypasses this step.

Note: Not every online transaction automatically requires 3DS or 3DS with 2FA. Whether the online transaction …:

… can be completed or accepted without 3DS …
… can be completed or accepted with 3DS but without 2FA …
… can be completed or accepted with 3DS but only with 2FA …

… may vary depending on the amount, card issuer and / or payment service provider.

Since Switzerland is not an EU member state, additional regulatory requirements may differ between merchants based in Switzerland and those based in EU member state countries. The fact that 3DS is required as an additional layer of security for online transactions with SBB is stated in the FAQs (including 3DS with 2FA, if necessary):

Help with payment methods | SBB help & contact

Kind regards,
Nicole

Krist

Nicole_B Is that your opinion, or can it be substantiated with verified transaction log data?

Its anecdotal. I hear a lot of people complain about SBB that could buy tickets on DB without any issue. DB also accepts paypal, which solves a lot of issues for lots of people.

As confirmed by the original poster:

Thiemooputh35 Thanks for the reply! Yes, just tried to buy tickets via DB and everything worked well in the end.

Nicole_B

Hello Thiemooputh35

With my Revolut Mastercard, I’ve never had any problems with SBB when it came to 3DS 2FA. I’ve always received a push notification from the Revolut app on my mobile device immediately with a link to the Revolut app to confirm the transaction there.

Kind regards,
Nicole

Thiemooputh35

Hi Nicole_B
Ok, I’m happy to know you didn’t experience any problems like this – my case is different as you can see. And I solved the problem by using Deutsche Bahn website for this trip.

Nicole_B

Hello Thiemooputh35

Yes, with online transactions, every case is individual, which is why it is impossible for outsiders to name specific causes, but only to make assumptions or possible causes. Since Deutsche Bahn probably uses a payment service provider from the EU member state Germany, it is possible that there are different regulatory conditions for online transactions (e.g. if the Revolut card was issued via the German branch office compared to an international transaction from Switzerland).

I’m glad to read that the workaround worked and your problem has been solved. In similar situations, the workaround of using Apple Pay or Google Pay often helps.

Kind regards,
Nicole

Nicole_B

Hello Krist

As long as there are no global regulations for online transactions, there will always be differences that lead to payment cards being rejected for a variety of reasons.

Switzerland’s regulatory requirements alone differ from those of the EU member states. For this reason, a comparison between DB and SBB is too superficial, or rather the starting points are automatically too different for a comparison.

Compared to all online transactions, however, rejected transactions account for only a small fraction. The rejection rate for cross-boarder transactions (compared to domestic transactions) is approx. 5-10% higher worldwide (if the publicly available data is correct). Due to the different regulatory requirements and different market standards, it is a logical consequence for me that the rejection rate for cross-boarder transactions is higher.

SBB used to offer PayPal as a payment option. As it was simply not used enough, it was discontinued for economic reasons (fees vs. revenue). As far as I know, PayPal has the highest market share as an online payment service in Germany. In Switzerland, on the other hand, TWINT has by far the largest market share (followed by credit/debit cards). This automatically results in a non-comparable starting position between the Swiss and German markets.

With swissrailways.com, there is a specialized booking platform aimed at international guests for travel in Switzerland.
In the event of 3DS 2FA problems on SBB.ch, we recommend using the workaround via this website or via the SBB Mobile app and using the Apple Pay / Google Pay payment option there (depending on what you want to buy / book).

Kind regards,
Nicole

Danhiel

Hello Nicole

Nicole_B via the SBB Mobile app and using the Apple Pay / Google Pay payment option there

Why SBB doesn’t offer these options on the website?

In your previous answers, you give more technical details as in the FAQ (e.g. regarding 3DS and 2FA). Could you make a SBB tip with these information? It would be easier for us to answer.

Kind regards
Danhiel

Krist

Nicole_B With swissrailways.com, there is a specialized booking platform aimed at international guests for travel in Switzerland.

That site is a great resource, and I have been suggesting it to tourists, as it is less confusing and easier to navigate.

Nicole_B

Hello Danhiel

Unfortunately, I don’t know the details, so I can’t answer this question. In general, I believe there could be two main reasons:

Technical limitations or incompatibility between the currently implemented online store solutions and/or backend architecture and the solution provided by the payment provider for wallet payments in online stores.
Economic reasons: Various alternative payment options are already offered (credit, debit, and prepaid cards; Twint; gift cards; PFP; HTA+; and prepaid public transit cards). Each payment option generates administrative overhead (integration alone isn’t enough).

I have been suggesting to the relevant decision-makers for some time now that the integration of wallet payments should be evaluated as part of the checkout redesign. Since the redesign is still pending, a review may still be pending.

I’ll be happy to forward the request for an SBB Tip to the community and payment managers so that it can be reviewed.

Kind regards,
Nicole