A method for authenticating a consumer for a portable consumer device is disclosed. One embodiment of the invention includes receiving a transaction message relating to a request by a consumer to conduct a transaction using a portable consumer device, wherein the consumer was previously enrolled in an authentication program and the consumer was previously authenticated, analyzing the transaction message to determine if a re-authentication event has taken place, causing a re-authentication message to be sent to the consumer before initiating an authorization request message to the issuer if the re-authentication event has taken place, and initiating the authorization request message to the issuer without sending the re-authentication message to the consumer if the re-authentication event has not taken place.