Why checkout asks for your billing details, and how your card is protected

A digital code has nothing to post, so it is reasonable to wonder why checkout asks for an address. The short answer is that the details are not for us. They are for your bank and our payment provider, who use them to check that the person paying is the cardholder. This article explains what is asked for, why, and what happens to it.

Where you enter your card details

Card payments on Faralaforge are taken on a secure payment page hosted by our payment provider, which is PCI-DSS compliant. When you continue from your cart, you are sent to that page to enter your card number, expiry date and security code.

Those card details are entered on the payment provider's page, not ours, and they never pass through our servers. We are told the result of the payment, not your card number.

Why we ask for billing details first

Our payment provider requires the cardholder's details with every payment, and the payment page only exists once your order has been created. So we collect the details in the cart and send them across when the payment is set up.

The details asked for are:

• Your full name and email address.
• Your billing address: street, city, postcode, state or region where applicable, and country.
• Depending on how the payment is routed, your phone number and date of birth.

Your bank and our payment provider use these to verify the payment and to decide whether to ask you for extra confirmation. A payment that arrives with full cardholder details is more likely to be approved without problems.

What we keep

Your order record keeps your email address, which we need to deliver your code, and your country. Your name, street address, phone number and date of birth are passed to the payment provider for that payment and are not stored in our order records. Our Privacy Policy explains in full what we hold and why.

Saving you some typing

If you are signed in, your name is filled in from your account. The country is pre-selected based on where your connection appears to come from. Both can be changed, and you should change them if they do not match your card.

3-D Secure

Your bank may ask you to confirm the payment, usually in your banking app or with a one-time code sent by text message. This is 3-D Secure, an extra check run by your bank. It protects you if someone else ever tries to use your card online. Keep your phone to hand when you check out.

If a payment is declined

The payment page shows the reason where one is given. Common causes are a billing address that does not match the one your bank holds, a 3-D Secure confirmation that timed out, or a card that is not enabled for online payments. You can try again with corrected details or a different card, or contact your bank.

A declined payment does not create a charge. Your order stays unpaid and no code is released.

Paying without a card

If you have points in your account, you can pay with them instead. No card payment takes place, so checkout does not ask for billing details at all.

Questions about a payment? Email [email protected] with your order reference. We will never ask you to send your card number or security code by email.