Cybersource in Canada: what you have, and what to check before you change it.

This page covers Cybersource, a Visa solution. Visa has owned it since 2010, and it sits in the Visa Acceptance Solutions family of brands with Authorize.net. Cybersource is the gateway. It carries a card sale from your website or software to the company that processes your card payments. We check the whole setup with you first, from the gateway account to the processor, software, currency, saved cards and recurring billing.

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The short answer

  • Cybersource is Visa's gateway. Visa completed its purchase on 21 July 2010. Cybersource and Authorize.Net are both Visa Acceptance Solutions brands.
  • There is no Canadian site. Cybersource's sandbox terms name Visa Canada Corporation as the contracting entity for Canada. CAD settlement and Interac are not documented.
  • The gateway and the processor are separate jobs. Most of what you pay comes from the processing behind the gateway.
  • Deadlines are live. Secure Acceptance was to be migrated by 30 September 2026, with more dates in 2027.
  • Nothing changes until it is checked. Whether you can change processor, keep saved cards or keep recurring billing depends on your account, and we confirm it in writing first.

Your gateway and your processor do different jobs

A payment gateway passes the card details from your checkout to a processor and brings the answer back. The payment processor approves the sale and settles the money into your merchant account, which pays out to your bank. The split is the same on all the gateways we cover.

  1. Your website, store or billing software
  2. Cybersource, the gateway
  3. The company that processes your card payments
  4. Your merchant account
  5. Your Canadian bank account

Cybersource holds no merchant accounts. It says it connects to more than 200 acquirers and processors, and each Cybersource merchant ID is set up against one of them. So it always sits beside a merchant account from another company, and your statements show which.

Where to start

Your situationWhat we check first
Your software asks for CybersourceWhich Cybersource product it connects to
You use Cybersource and want to see what it costsWho processes your payments, and which lines are gateway, processing and software
You want to bill in USD as well as CADWhich currencies your processor connection settles
You take recurring paymentsWhere the cards are stored, and which system runs the schedule
You got a notice about Secure Acceptance or encryptionWho built your connection, so you know who has to update it

Secure Acceptance sunset and the 2027 deadlines

Cybersource's release notes say Secure Acceptance is being sunset. The target date to finish migrating was 30 September 2026, and it has passed. Unified Checkout is the recommended replacement. Production traffic moves to new Visa network addresses on 31 January 2027. Updated message-level encryption is required by March 2027, and Cybersource warns of failed transactions if it is not done.

Ask your developer or plugin vendor to confirm the update for your setup. If you are not sure what you run, we can check it with you.

Software that connects to Cybersource

WooCommerce

Two plugins exist. Cybersource's own plugin lists network tokens, 3-D Secure, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Click to Pay, WooCommerce Subscriptions and Checkout Blocks. A paid SkyVerge plugin on the WooCommerce Marketplace lists saved cards, eChecks, Google Pay, 3D Secure and Decision Manager. Tell us which one you run.

Shopify

The Shopify App Store lists a free Cybersource app, launched 10 January 2025. It names Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shopify Subscriptions, Payer Authentication and Decision Manager. The listing says the app only works with certain stores and bills in USD.

Adobe Commerce and Magento

The Adobe Commerce Marketplace lists a free Cybersource extension, version 3.5.13, for Adobe Commerce 2.4 and Magento Open Source 2.4. Per the listing it covers Microform tokens, 3-D Secure, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Click to Pay, eCheck, Decision Manager and Canadian GST/HST tax.

NetSuite

Cybersource publishes a SuiteApp for Oracle NetSuite 2026.2 and earlier. Per its documentation it covers cards with Level II and Level III data, network tokens, 3-D Secure, Google Pay and ACH/eCheck. See our NetSuite page for how a gateway app fits inside NetSuite.

What to check on a Cybersource account

FeatureWhat the vendor documents
Saved cardsToken Management Service (TMS), with Visa and Mastercard network tokens
Recurring billingRecurring Billing: plans, subscriptions and TMS tokens
3-D SecurePayer Authentication, EMV 3-D Secure 2: Visa Secure, Mastercard Identity Check, American Express SafeKey
Level 2 and 3 dataA Level II and Level III guide; American Express must approve Level II first
Apple Pay, Google PayUnified Checkout lists Canada for Apple Pay, Google Pay, Click to Pay and eCheck
Hosted page or fieldsUnified Checkout, a PCI SAQ-A checkout; Flex Microform hosted card fields
Fraud screeningDecision Manager, with machine learning; Fraud Management Essentials for small business
Virtual terminalListed on the status page as a Business Center module; no public guide was found
Pay by linkPay by Link; needs Unified Checkout on the account
Not documentedInterac, CAD settlement and Canadian pre-authorized debit. eCheck is ticked for Canada, but no page covers Canadian bank accounts

3-D Secure 2 on Cybersource

Cybersource's Payer Authentication service runs EMV 3-D Secure 2 for Visa Secure, Mastercard Identity Check and American Express SafeKey, and its own WooCommerce, Shopify, Adobe Commerce, NetSuite and Salesforce connectors list it. It is a priced service, so a Cybersource quote should show it on its own line. We check whether Payer Authentication is enabled on your merchant ID and which connector carries it. Why it matters: card-testing bots run stolen card numbers through online checkouts by the thousand, and Visa's guidance says every attempt, approved or declined, can carry authorization and gateway fees, with disputes on the ones that go through. Visa's merchant guide lists 3-D Secure authentication among the controls, next to CAPTCHA, velocity limits and device checks. Turn it on before the first attack; we check that it is live and that your checkout sends it. See 3-D Secure in Canada, or the sixty-second version.

Stopping card testing on Cybersource

Cybersource sells two fraud services on one engine. Fraud Management Essentials uses one risk model and a pre-set rule profile with basic case management; Decision Manager adds custom rules, several models and full case queues. Both need a billing address and email on every transaction or the order fails. Cybersource's own WooCommerce, Shopify and Adobe Commerce connectors list them. We check which service is on your merchant ID and that your connector sends the fields it needs. Visa's merchant guide lists these controls together with 3-D Secure, and none of them is on by default on a new account. We go through the list with you and turn on what your checkout can use.

CAD, USD and Interac

Cybersource's pages state no per-account currency rule and never name CAD. The currency you settle in is set by the processor behind the gateway. If you bill in CAD and USD, we confirm with your processor which currencies you can settle.

Interac debit is not documented on Cybersource's developer site. Pre-authorized debit from Canadian bank accounts is not documented either. We confirm all three in writing before any account is opened or changed.

Fees and statements

Cybersource publishes no price list. Its pricing page is a request form, with Canada in the country list. A full quote should show each cost on its own line: the gateway, fraud screening, tokens, 3-D Secure, the processing behind the gateway, the software connector and setup. The processing lines follow our card processing fees and interchange rates pages.

Where CleverPays fits

Visa owns and runs the Cybersource gateway. The company that processes your card payments approves and settles them. Your software company maintains its own connector. CleverPays does not make Cybersource or your software.

We check your setup with you: which gateway account, which processor, which software, CAD or USD, saved cards and recurring billing. Then we tell you what can change. Where we can set up the account, we will say so in writing. Where we cannot, we will tell you. We can review your statement, connect and test what we set up, and stay your contact in English and French.

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Sources

Product and company names on this page are trademarks of their respective owners. CleverPays is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

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Common questions

A payment gateway and fraud platform that Visa has owned since 2010. Its pages call it "Cybersource, a Visa solution".

Already on Cybersource?

Tell us what you run today. We check the setup with you and tell you plainly what can change.

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