Recurring and Card-on-File Billing
Account Updater is integrated with Visa and MasterCard’s account update services, and makes card management automatic and easy when updating stored token (PASS) records. It eliminates the need for merchants to track down customers to update their payment information for recurring billing services.
Coupled with Transform Tokenization technology, Account Updater offers a valuable service that your merchants – and their customers – will appreciate.
How does Account Updater work?
Account Updater can be implemented two ways:
Automatic - Software applications can be set to flag PASS records to update each time a PASS transaction is declined.
Manual - Merchants can manually flag accounts for update on any PASS record of their choosing.
Both approaches submit all flagged cards at the end of the day to the Account Updater service. Software applications can then query flagged PASS records to determine if a card has been successfully updated.
What you need to know
Updates are usually received within four to five business days, and we will not update a PASS record until an update response is received. If an update was successful, the payment application can submit the updated PASS record for future billing.
Only Visa and MasterCard cards can be enrolled in the Account Updater service.
Suggested updates for declined ExpressResponseCode
If manually flagging records, it is recommended that the following ExpressResponseCode decline values be flagged for update:
RC | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
20 | Decline | Card issuer has declined the transaction. |
21 | Expired Card | Card is expired. |
24 | Pick Up Card | Card issuer has declined the transaction and wants to recover the card. |
Valid Updates
The following PASSUpdaterStatus responses resulting from a PaymentAccountQuery request are considered valid updates:
Match Type | Description |
|---|---|
Match: Account Change | Account match was found and account number has changed. The PASS record has been updated with the new credit card number. |
Match: Expiration Change | Account match was found and expiration date has changed. The PASS record has been updated with the new expiration date. |
Match: Account Closed | Account match was found. Account has been closed. The PASS record will not be updated. This allows a merchant to identify PASS records that will never produce an approval by distinguishing between declines that are legitimate (due to closed accounts) and those resulting because the cardholder is too close tothecredit limit to use the card on file. |
Match: Contact Cardholder | Account match was found. The PASS record will not be updated. The merchant will need to contact the cardholder to inquire about the status of the account. This information allows a merchant to identify PASS records that will never produce an approval by distinguishing between declines that are legitimate (due to closed accounts) and those resulting because the cardholder is too close to the credit limit to use the card on file. |
Integration Options
One-time manual update (recommended after specified declines)
The software application can initiate a PaymentAccountAutoUpdate request using a PASSUpdaterBatchStatus of “IncludedInNextBatch”.
<PaymentAccountAutoUpdate xmlns="https://services.elementexpress.com"> <Credentials> <AccountID>INSERT</AccountID> <AccountToken>INSERT</AccountToken> <AcceptorID>INSERT</AcceptorID> </Credentials> <Application> <ApplicationID>INSERT</ApplicationID> <ApplicationName>INSERT</ApplicationName> <ApplicationVersion>INSERT</ApplicationVersion> </Application> <PaymentAccount> <PaymentAccountID>INSERT</PaymentAccountID> <PaymentAccountType>0</PaymentAccountType> <PaymentAccountReferenceNumber>000001</PaymentAccountReferenceNumber> <PASSUpdaterBatchStatus></PASSUpdaterBatchStatus> <PASSUpdaterOption></PASSUpdaterOption> </PaymentAccount> </PaymentAccountAutoUpdate>
Updated automatically after any future specified decline
The PASSUpdaterOption should be set to “AutoUpdateEnabled”.
For direct integrations (where PaymentAccountCreate is submitted directly from the software application)
Software applications can also flag a PASS record for a one-time manual update by submitting the PASSUpdaterBatchStatus of “IncludedInNextBatch” in the PaymentAccountCreate request.
<PaymentAccountCreate xmlns="https://services.elementexpress.com"> <Credentials> <AccountID>INSERT</AccountID> <AccountToken>INSERT</AccountToken> <AcceptorID>INSERT</AcceptorID> </Credentials> <Application> <ApplicationID>INSERT</ApplicationID> <ApplicationName>INSERT</ApplicationName> <ApplicationVersion>INSERT</ApplicationVersion> </Application> <PaymentAccount> <PaymentAccountType>0</PaymentAccountType> <PaymentAccountReferenceNumber>000001</PaymentAccountReferenceNumber> </PaymentAccount> <Card> <CardNumber>4003000123456781</CardNumber> <ExpirationMonth>12</ExpirationMonth> <ExpirationYear>19</ExpirationYear> </Card> </PaymentAccountCreate>
Current status of a previously-flagged record
1. The software can initiate a PaymentAccountQuery request using PASSUpdaterStatus, PASSUpdaterBatchStatus, PASSUpdaterDateTimeBegin, PASSUpdaterDateTimeEnd.
or
2. Any other existing query parameter such as PaymentAccountID, PaymentAccountReferenceNumber, Expiration Date, PaymentBrand, etc.
<PaymentAccountQuery xmlns="https://services.elementexpress.com"> <Credentials> <AccountID>INSERT</AccountID> <AccountToken>INSERT</AccountToken> <AcceptorID>INSERT</AcceptorID> </Credentials> <Application> <ApplicationID>INSERT</ApplicationID> <ApplicationName>INSERT</ApplicationName> <ApplicationVersion>INSERT</ApplicationVersion> </Application> <PaymentAccountParameters> <PaymentAccountID>INSERT</PaymentAccountID> </PaymentAccountParameters> </PaymentAccountQuery>
Disable the ability for a currently-flagged record to be updated
The software application can submit a PaymentAccountAutoUpdate request using a PASSUpdaterOption of “AutoUpdateDisabled” and a PASSUpdaterBatchStatus of “NotIncludedInNextBatch”.
PASSUpdaterStatus update responses
When a record is initially flagged for update, the PASSUpdaterStatus will automatically be set to “NotUpdated” (enum value 14) until an update response is received.
Match Type | Enum | Description |
|---|---|---|
Null | 0 | N/A |
Update in progress | 1 | Update in progress. |
Match: No Changes | 2 | Account match was found, but there are no changes. |
Match: Account Change | 3 | Account match was found and account number has changed. Account number has been updated. |
Match: Expiration Change | 4 | Account match was found and expiration date has changed. Expiration date has been updated. |
Match: Account Closed | 5 | Account match was found. Account has been closed. |
Match: Contact Cardholder | 6 | Account match was found. Contact the cardholder to update the account information. |
No Match: Participating | 7 | Account match not found on participating BIN. |
No Match: Non-Participating | 8 | Account match not found on non-participating BIN. |
Invalid Info | 9 | Invalid information. e.g. Invalid card number. |
No Response | 10 | No response. e.g. Request submitted, but no response. |
Not Allowed | 11 | Not allowed. e.g. Merchant may not be set up for Account Updater service. |
Error | 12 | Error. |
PASS Updater Disabled | 13 | PASS Updater is disabled. |
Not Updated | 14 | Not updated. |
Account Updater is an easy to use and convenient service that enhances any payment application. There are many scenarios in which Account Updater can be used. It is recommended developers speak with our Implementation Consultants to fully understand the integration options and best practices for this service.
For more information about how to implement Account Updater contact integrationteam@vantiv.com