[Removed user]

11 September 2019 at 15:58:56 #823826

How hard can it be to order two Swiss Travel Passes from Happy Rail (which is advertised here as the best buy)? I’ve tried twice to pay for my tickets, and both times I got the message “Cannot process your payment (FRAUD)” I wish their online system would specify exactly which of my input it isn’t accepting. I’ve checked with my credit card company (after my first unsuccessful attempt), and I was told that there is no problem from the point of view of the credit card company. The problem, it looks to me, is some detail on Happy Rail’s input screen that isn’t user-friendly.

The customer service of Happy Rail is available only certain hours (Switzerland time); thus, I probably won’t get help from them until tomorrow. I was hoping to get my tickets via email (within 30 minutes of my order, according to them) and be able to print them, and be ready to leave home early morning of 13 Sept.

Would someone on myswissalps.com please help enlighten me as to what I might have done wrong when ordering online from Happy Rail? And maybe I should just wait until I arrive at the Zurich airport and buy my train tickets there? Thanks for your help.

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[Arno]

11 September 2019 at 16:36:04 #922088

Hi Jopie,

It should not be hard! I think it’s the payment provider in between HappyRail and your bank who is refusing the transaction for some reason. Does your credit card allow international purchases? The card might be fine but certain restrictions may apply. This happens quite a lot. Can you give it a try through https://shop.switzerla ndtravelcentre.com/#/e n/home? They are a few francs more expensive but fully trustworthy too. If it works you’re done with it. If not, then it’s your bank who needs to solve this.

[Removed user]

11 September 2019 at 19:23:31 #922089

Yes, Arno. That’s what I ended up doing. After two unsuccessful attempts of paying for the tickets with Happy Trail (including a few rejected inputs for such items as email address, street address, etc.), I decided to try buying from the Switzerland Travel Center. I got the message from them too, that my payment could not be processed (Fraud). It also gave the statement that ‘the 3-D server process has not yet been activated Try again or contact your bank.’ By the way,I got this message from Happy Trail too, but that didn’t mean anything to me.

When I got this rejection from the Switzerland Travel Center, I was starting to wonder what that 3-D server was, when my phone rang. My credit card company called me to ask if I was just trying to make a purchase with this STC in Zurich. I asked to talk to a representative in order to get an explanation of where the problem was. So, here is what I learned from that phone call: When one gets this message about the 3-D server, if one calls the credit card company, then the transaction can be approved. When I confirmed that it was a transaction I wanted to do, the representative removed the block on my card, and she told me to try the transaction again, and that it should go through. It did go through, and I was able to print our tickets.

Arno, perhaps, as another service that myswissalps.com can do for your readers and fans (among all the numerous favors all you guys have already generously extended to us), you could add this piece of information in your list of tips on buying rail tickets online: what to do when one gets the message ‘your payment cannot be processed (FRAUD). Please try again or call your bank.’ As in my case, without knowing this bit of information, a consumer who is sure that his/her card is good, and that all the information he/she entered is good and valid, this FRAUD statement and the reference to the 3-D server can be unnerving and can make that rail company lose a customer. I almost gave up and was inclined to wait until I arrive at the Zurich airport to buy my train tickets in spite of the frequent recommendation from you all on myswissalps.com to order tickets online. Especially because my flight is the morning after tomorrow, and there are lots of things going on.

Thanks for your help, Arno.

[pvonk]

11 September 2019 at 20:14:50 #922090

When traveling abroad, always contact you credit card bank to report a travel notice (providing dates).. You can usually do that by logging into your credit card account on the web. You may have to hunt around the menus to find the right page. Without doing this you may have foreign purchases rejected (restaurants, hotels, etc) which would require a call to your bank to straighten out the issue. For pre travel purchases, call the bank in advance, as you discovered.

[Removed user]

11 September 2019 at 22:45:37 #922091

Hello there ,

i’ve Had the same problem last week when I am trying go purchase an 8 day travel pass with SBB . Call your bank and let them know that you are using that card to purchase your Travel pass to Switzerland . It is an anti fraud thing , some banks here in the US requires you to verify that you are the one using the card 🙂 happy travels .

[Arno]

12 September 2019 at 6:45:30 #922092

Hi Jopie,

Issues with 3D are quite common. It’s a security measure that is often required in Europe, but 3D isn’t available on many US credit cards yet. However, both websites we discussed here are used to dealing with foreign credit cards and didn’t have issues with it so far. I will contact them so they can check if something has changed with their payment provider (it’s not HappyRail or Switzerland Travel Centre themselves who check on 3D and refuse payments). One good thing for you is that you’re now aware of it, otherwise you may have ran into the issue in a restaurant or store.

Thanks for your patience and enjoy your trip!