Key takeaway: Merchants on Global Payments’ Adaptive Authentication platform can now send issuers richer transaction data at authorization. This may reduce false declines on eligible domestic transactions in the US and Canada. Global Payments reports the approval gains itself, and ties them to its Data Only authentication and AI optimization. Merchants should test the results against their own data.
Global Payments has added Visa’s Intelligent Data Exchange (IDX) API to its Adaptive Authentication platform, according to The Paypers. The API lets merchants pass more detailed transaction data to card issuers during authorization. The stated goals are fewer false declines, higher approval rates, and fewer challenges for customers at checkout.
Visa IDX currently covers only eligible domestic transactions in the US and Canada. Adaptive Authentication itself remains available to Global Payments clients globally. The platform uses AI to choose an authentication method for each transaction. Its options now include 3D Secure, Data Only authentication, Strong Customer Authentication exemptions, and the Visa IDX API. It also draws on fraud and risk capabilities from Ravelin.
Global Payments says merchants typically see approval rates rise by 4% to 6% when they combine Data Only authentication with the platform’s AI optimization model. The Paypers reported this figure as company-supplied and did not say whether the IDX integration contributed to it. John Winstel, Senior Vice President of Value Added Services at Global Payments, said declined legitimate transactions represent lost revenue for the merchant. Cietan Kitney, Head of Product for North America at Visa, said the API gives issuers more detailed insight into a transaction at the point of authorization.
Why it matters: False declines turn away good customers and cost eCommerce merchants revenue that fraud controls were never meant to block. Sending issuers more data at authorization gives them more to work with before they decline. Merchants should compare their approval and chargeback rates before and after any rollout, given the current US and Canada domestic limit and the vendor-reported results.
Sources: The Paypers