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Card purchases

A card purchase happens when a card user pays for a service or good using their card.

Card purchases involve two transactions:

  • Authorization–during this transaction, the system checks card details, funds, and spend controls and reserves the funds.
  • Settlement–during this transaction, the system confirms the purchase and deducts funds from the card to send them to the merchant.

Authorization​

When a merchant requests funds from a card, either at a physical point of sale or online, the system creates an authorization transaction. Authorization transactions transmit information that is used to decide if the transaction is approved or declined.

Institutions involved in authorizations check if:

  • The card details are valid
  • There are sufficient funds on the card's balance to cover the purchase
  • The purchase meets the restrictions defined in spend controls

If the preceding details are successfully checked, the system approves the transaction. Otherwise, the system declines the transaction.

When the system approves the transaction, it blocks the equivalent of the authorization amount on the card's balance. This guarantees that funds are available when the system receives a settlement transaction. Funds can remain blocked for up to 30 days.

Strong customer authentication​

To protect against fraud, when the card assigneeCard Assignee The person that a card is assigned to and who will use the card. For consumers, the card owner and card assignee are the same person. For corporates, the card assignee and card owner are different entities - the corporate is the card owner and the person using the card is the card assignee. Card assignees must be created as Authorised Users. makes an online purchase, they must do one more verification step. The system displays a page to the card assigneeCard Assignee The person that a card is assigned to and who will use the card. For consumers, the card owner and card assignee are the same person. For corporates, the card assignee and card owner are different entities - the corporate is the card owner and the person using the card is the card assignee. Card assignees must be created as Authorised Users. where they must input a verification code to proceed with the purchase.

tip

Secure customer authentication during card purchases is also referred to as 3DSecure.

We support different types of 3D Secure authentication methods. Read our guide to learn more on how to configure your app and end-customer cards.

Authorization webhooks​

You can receive webhooks for all authorizations on your customers' cards using the card authorization webhook. Authorization webhooks are sent to you in near real-time and you can use them to inform your customers about purchases made using their cards.

Settlement​

The system creates a settlement transaction when the merchant who requested an authorization sends a second request to confirm the purchase.

In this transaction, the purchase amount is deducted from the card's balance.

Settlement webhooks​

You can receive webhooks for all settlements on your customers' cards using the card settlement webhook. You can use settlement webhooks to inform your customers about confirmed purchases submitted on their cards.