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Mastercard

Mastercard ECI Code 06: Acquirer Exemption Applied (EMV 3DS Only)

Last updated: October 8, 2026

Key details

Brand
Mastercard
Code
06
Response
06
Detailed Response
Acquirer exemption applied (EMV 3DS only)

What it means

Mastercard ECI 06 is an EMV 3-D Secure authentication result indicating that the issuer has granted an acquirer-requested exemption, such as a PSD2/SCA Low-Risk exemption. This is a success signal indicating a frictionless flow, not a payment decline.

Why does code 06 occur?

  • The merchant or acquirer requested a PSD2/SCA exemption, such as Low-Risk or Transaction Risk Analysis (TRA), during the 3DS process.
  • The issuer accepted the exemption request and allowed a frictionless flow without a payer challenge.
  • In EMV 3DS 2.2, this outcome is specifically triggered when the authentication system returns acsEci=06 alongside a transactionStatus of I (Authentication Exempt).
  • In EMV 3DS 2.1, this result is identified by transactionStatus=N, reason code 81, and an AAV leading indicator of kN.

How to solve 06?

No resolution is required as this is an informational success code. Proceed with the payment authorization using the supplied authentication token.

Solving as a merchant

Submit the payment authorization request containing the EMV 3DS authentication token supplied by the gateway. Ensure you do not request the exemption again during the authorization step itself.

Solving as a client

No action is needed from the customer, as the authentication was successful and frictionless.

See the full list of Mastercard's decline codes >Find code on Mastercard's website >

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Kyle Regacho

Author

Kyle Regacho
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Focused on payment recovery, decline codes, and authorization optimization at SmartRetry. Helps payment teams turn failed transactions into recovered revenue

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