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Payment Systems
Every payment transaction completes in seconds, yet dozens of controls run behind the scenes. This post covers the precautions for authorization and clearing, the critical role of reversals, and the financial loss scenarios most often seen in the field.
Merchant & POS
Partial authorization lets an issuer approve part of the requested amount when the card lacks the full balance, with the rest paid another way. This post covers the technical, receipt, clearing, reconciliation, merchant and certification requirements for acquirers.
Merchant & POS
In EMV-based debit card transactions, PIN verification is decisive for both security and liability. What happens when a card that only supports online PIN is sent to the issuer without a PIN, and the issuer approves it? Who owns the risk?
Merchant & POS
It's important to first distinguish between magnetic-stripe and fallback transactions. A magnetic-stripe transaction skips the chip entirely, which lowers its security level compared to a fallback transaction.
Merchant & POS
The System Trace Audit Number (STAN) is a number assigned by the third-party system (ATM or POS) to help uniquely identify a transaction. It is generated in the range 000001 to 999999. Each new authorization message needs a new STAN; retries reuse the original STAN.
Merchant & POS
Response codes returned on payment transactions are critical for managing next steps. Curious which error codes trigger card capture? Under ISO 8583, codes 04, 07, 33, 34, 36, 38, 41 and 43 all result in the card being captured.
Clearing
The Domestic Clearing and Settlement System (YTH) settles and clears transactions between two banks when a card from one bank is used at another bank's POS or ATM. Participants submit records that are cleared daily and multilaterally netted and reconciled.
Merchant & POS
The MCC code, or Merchant Category Code, is a 4-digit code used to classify merchants. Some MCC codes are restricted or prohibited, and POS terminals or card transactions may be blocked when such a code is used.
Merchant & POS
Mail order is carried out by conveying credit card details to the merchant by phone or mail. A manual sale occurs when, due to a physical problem during checkout, the card details are entered into the POS device by hand instead.
Merchant & POS
A POS is a functional device with its own dedicated software, customized to the authorization system of the bank it is connected to, that accepts credit or debit cards. The POS and the authorization system communicate using the ISO 8583 standard.
Online & Authorization
Below are the possible response code values for offline transactions and their explanations: Response Code / Explanation - Y1: Approved offline, Z1: Declined offline, Y2: Approved after referral, and more.