A method is disclosed. The method comprising: receiving, by an access control sewer via a directory sewer from an authentication requestor, an authentication request comprising an account identifier, and information regarding a prior authentication method on the account identifier and a current authentication method for the account identifier associated with a transaction; performing, by the access control server, a risk analysis for the transaction based at least in part on the information and a threshold; authenticating, by the access control server, the user of the account identifier using the information, the account identifier, and a result of the risk analysis; modifying, by the access control server, an authentication response to include an authentication indicator, and transmitting, by the access control sewer, the authentication response to the authentication requestor.