Detailed Challenge Status Now Available in 3DS Authentication Responses

Overview

Beginning Monday, August 11th, a new status field is will be available in the challenge_metadata object of 3DS authentication responses. This field provides additional granularity into challenge outcomes, including SMS delivery failures, timeouts, and cancellations. Card programs can now monitor why challenges fail and identify potential data quality issues affecting cardholder authentication.

Details

The challenge_metadata object within authentication responses will now include a status field that indicates the outcome of authentication challenges. This enhancement is particularly valuable for programs using SMS OTP challenges, as it reveals when messages fail to reach cardholders due to incorrect phone numbers or carrier issues.

Challenge Status Values

The status field supports the following enum values:

• SUCCESS - Cardholder completed the challenge successfully
• PENDING - Challenge is issued but not yet completed
• SMS_DELIVERY_FAILED - SMS could not be delivered to the provided phone number
• CARDHOLDER_TIMEOUT - Cardholder did not complete the challenge within the allowed time
• CANCELED_VIA_CHALLENGE_UI - Cardholder selected "cancel" on the challenge interface
• CANCELED_OOB - Cardholder canceled the challenge out of band
• ATTEMPTS_EXCEEDED - Cardholder exceeded the maximum number of incorrect OTP attempts or new OTP requests
• ABORTED - Merchant aborted authentication after requesting a challenge
• ERROR - Challenge failed for an undocumented reason

Example Response

Previously, the challenge metadata only included method type and phone number:

{
  "challenge_metadata": {
    "method_type": "SMS_OTP",
    "phone_number": "+1234567890"
  }
}

With this update, the challenge metadata now includes the status field:

{
  "challenge_metadata": {
    "status": "SMS_DELIVERY_FAILED",
    "method_type": "SMS_OTP",
    "phone_number": "+1234567890"
  }
}

Release Timeline

• Production availability: August 11, 2025

User Impact

This change is additive only. Existing integrations will continue to function without modification. The new status field provides additional insights into challenge failures, enabling programs to:

• Identify cardholder records with incorrect phone numbers or other carrier issues
• Monitor for suspicious behavior, such as challenge failures due to excessive retries

Updated Documentation

For detailed endpoint specifications and usage examples, visit our API Reference.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via the HELP link in your Lithic Dashboard.

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