Authorization Flashcards
When does authorization happen?
At the moment of the swipe
2 possible results of authorization?
- Places hold on funds and puts transaction in pending
- Declines the transaction
What is ISO 8583?
Messaging standard that is used by banks and card networks to exchange messages between themselves
11 Step Authorization Process
- Cardholder enters card details and cardholder credentials into the check-out page of the online storefront
- Gateway encrypts card details and cardholder credentials
- Gateway sends the encrypted card details and cardholder credentials to the merchant’s Acquirer Processor
- Acquirer Processor identifies the Card Network affiliated with the card
- Acquirer Processor forwards the card details to that Card Network, requesting Authorization
- Card Network identifies the bank that issued the card
- Card Network routes the transaction to the Issuer Processor affiliated with the Issuing Bank
- Issuer Processor validates that the transaction is not fraudulent, verifies that the cardholder’s account is in good standing, and verifies that the cardholder has sufficient credit to cover the amount of the purchase
- Issuer Processor sends back an approval message to the Card Network
- Card Network relays the authorization to the Acquirer Processor
- Acquirer Processor relays the authorization to the Gateway
- Gateway notifies the Cardholder that the transaction is approved
What are auth rates?
Percentage of a merchants transactions that successfully pass through the authorization process
Reasons for failed authorization
- Technical errors
- Internet outages
- Page inactivity
- Issuer refusals
- Insufficient funds
- Stolen card
- Expired card
- Billing address that does not match
Auth Rates CP vs. CNP
Overall, in-store (POS) transactions tend to have very low decline rates, while e-commerce transactions can have 5 to 10 percent decline rates
‘Do Not Honor’
- Most common decline reason for an online transaction
- Does not really tell the merchant why the issuer is declining the transaction
‘NSF’
Insufficient Funds
‘Invalid CVV’
The CVV that a customer provided does not match the issuer’s records
AVS Failed
The Address Verification Service cross checks the billing addresses a merchant submits with authorization, and the issuer says it does not match what they have on file
Hard Declines
- Any refusal due to an invalid card, stolen card or closed account
- Not much the merchant can do
- Should not be reattempted
Soft Declines
- Temporary Declines
- If it is a technical error, waiting to retry later could resolve the issue
- For an expired card, a merchant can either reach out to the shopper for them to ass a new card, or they can reach out to the relevant Network for updated details
Auth rates online vs. POS
Auth rates can be 10% lower for online payments
Why are auth rates lower for online payments?
Issuing banks use more conservative logic to approve or deny an online transaction because of the increased risk of fraud