Reviewing Orders in Real Time

Reviewing Orders in Real Time

After you have obtained the customer's information, the customer's bank and CyberSource review and verify the customer's information to make sure that it is correct, complete, and valid.

Successful Order Processing

After you complete an order through the Virtual Terminal, a successful order is processed as follows:

1

CyberSource validates the order and sends the order information to Smart Authorization to be verified and to the customer’s bank to be approved.

Smart Authorization uses the fraud detection tools to verify that the customer is legitimate by analyzing each credit card authorization request and, therefore, guards against fraud losses. For configuration information on Smart Authorization, see Configuring Smart Authorization.

2

The bank replies with an authorization code that you can see in the Transaction Search Details page along with the results of Smart Authorization.

Authorization ensures that the customer has sufficient funds to pay for the goods and reserves the amount until you collect the payment.

3

You can later capture the order.

For more information on locating the authorization results in the Business Center, see Searching and Reviewing Orders.

Correcting Errors and Declined Orders

When errors occur, orders can be declined at each independent stage of the process: by CyberSource, the customer’s bank, and/or Smart Authorization. When an order is declined, a message appears at the top of the order page. The message explains what the error is and, in some cases, how to correct it. Even if errors occur, you may be able to capture the order. The sections below describe how errors can occur and how you can resolve them.

CyberSource: Errors or Failed Tests

As soon as you place an order, CyberSource attempts to validate the order but can reject it because of errors such as these:

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Validation errors in the customer’s order data, such as the credit card number.

For credit card numbers, this test verifies only that the number fits the criteria for the card type submitted by the customer for the order, not that the number is correct. Note that the issuing bank may still decline to authorize a purchase even if the card is valid. To correct a validation error due to the credit card number, for example, you can ask your customer to verify the card number or to provide a different card number.

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System errors that prevent the order from being completed.

To correct a system error, wait a few minutes and place the order again. If you cannot correct the errors or continue to receive system error messages, you need to call Customer Support or reject the order. If you keep processing an order while receiving many system error messages, you may actually be authorizing the order repeatedly and charging the customer’s card many times.

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Failed Smart Authorization: Test(s)

Smart Authorization can fail if the order does not pass the tests that you chose, such as when the amount of the order exceeds your maximum threshold. If you received an authorization code (electronically or verbally), you need to review carefully the reason(s) for the Smart Authorization failure(s) to decide whether to attempt to resolve the problem and accept the order. Otherwise, you may need to reject the order. See Reviewing Declined Credit Card Authorizations for details.

Customer’s Bank: Failed Approval

Without an authorization code, you cannot accept an order. However, you may sometimes be able to obtain a verbal authorization and capture the order. The sections below describe these possibilities.

The customer’s bank declines the order, and you do not receive an authorization code. The bank can refuse the order for many reasons, such as insufficient funds. You can attempt to correct the problem by using the information in the error message, such as requesting a different credit card from the customer. If you still cannot obtain an authorization code, you reject the order.

Verbal Authorization Required

The bank may ask you to call the card association for reasons such as these:


Verbal authorization required Invalid card	Card refused Card expired

If you receive a six-digit authorization code, you can process the order and later capture it. For information on capturing orders with a verbal authorization code, see Verbal Authorization Code Needed. Make sure to enter verbal authorization codes manually into your order system. If you cannot obtain an authorization code, you must reject the order.