Terminal Responses At the End Of A Transaction

Here are some common responses the merchant will see at the end of a transaction

APPROVAL CODE
This is the response that the card used has enough credit, the sale will complete and the card is not stolen or lost. The merchant records the message on the sales draft. THE APPROVAL CODE DOES NOT GUARANTEE PAYMENT.

DECLINED
This is the response when the card issuing bank will not approve the charge. This can happen for many reasons, one being there is not enough credit line on the card to approve the sale. The merchant needs to ask the customer for another form of payment when the DECLINED response comes up. If the customer wants to know why the transaction is declined they need to contact their card issuing bank.

DECLINED PICK UP
This response is given when the card issuing bank wants the card returned for some reason. The merchant is not required to keep the card and it should only be kept if it can be done safely. The merchant should refer the cardholder to the card issuing bank.



© Eagle Merchant Services is a Chicago merchant account area provider offering the lowest cost merchant services as well as credit card machines.

The Authorization

There are two ways an Authorization can happen.

ELECTRONIC
This is when the merchant swipes the credit card through a terminal or point of sale device and the POS device sends the transaction data electronically for the authorization.

VOICE AUTHORIZATION
This is when the merchant calls the voice authorization center; the voice authorization center has a computer system that communicates with the Issuing Banks to relay transaction data. An operator gives the merchant the Authorization response that is received from the card issuing bank.

Most authorizations are done electronically but the VOICE AUTHORIZATION is a great back up if the merchants credit card machine or POS System is down.




© Eagle Merchant Services - a merchant account provider located in the Chicago area providing the lowest cost merchant services and credit card machines.

What goes on in the life of a transaction?

A credit card transaction consists of two parts: the authorization and the settlement.

The AUTHORIZATION is the permission of the card issuing bank to accept a credit card for a payment.

The SETTLEMENT is the clearance through the Visa and MasterCard settlement system of the credit card transactions accumulated by the merchant in the terminal or Host so that the merchant can be paid for them. Both Authorization and Settlement must happen before a merchant can be paid for a credit card transaction.



© Eagle Merchant Services is a Chicago merchant account provider located in the Chicago area offering the absolute lowest cost merchant services credit card machines.