TabaPay MIT Service

We are excited to inform you we are rolling out support for Merchant Initiated Transactions in Dec '23.

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Interested in MIT?
Please work with your TabaPay representative to register for TabaPay MIT. Each network requires registration and we want to make sure you are suitably enabled.

About TabaPay MIT Service

Merchant Initiated Transaction (MIT) Service is an optional service to support TabaPay Clients to manage the transaction identifier lifecycle for merchant-initiated transactions. A Merchant-Initiated Transaction relates to a previous cardholder initiated transaction or a cardholder payment agreement for future payments but is conducted without the active participation of the cardholder.

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Dos and Don'ts with MIT

No cardholder validation or authentication can be performed for MITs.

An MIT should provide a link to the cardholder’s original interaction.

Background

Stored credentials can help provide a seamless way for cardholders to transact online, in-app, or in-person with their favorite merchants. A stored credential-on-file can be used in either a cardholder-initiated or merchant-initiated transaction.

The new CIT and MIT indicators help increase the transparency and security of the transaction by providing additional information that can be used to monitor the proper use of payment credentials, supporting better informed authorization decisions, and higher approval rates.

What are CIT and MIT

Cardholder Initiated Transaction CIT - A cardholder-initiated transaction is any transaction where the cardholder actively participates in the transaction. This can be either at a terminal in-store or through a checkout experience online, or with a stored payment credential that the cardholder has previously consented to store with the merchant.

Transactions can occur as an in-store POS transaction, an e-commerce transaction, a mail order/telephone order transaction, or at an ATM.

Merchant Initiated Transaction MIT - Any transaction that relates to a previous cardholder-initiated transaction but is conducted without the active participation of the cardholder. As a result, the merchant cannot perform any cardholder validation. In all cases, a merchant-initiated transaction must refer to the cardholder’s original interaction. A transaction where the cardholder is not actively participating in the transaction. MITs may often be preceded by either a CIT or an Account Status Inquiry (ASI).

Merchants commonly perform MITs without the active participation of the cardholder to:

Perform a transaction as a follow-up to a cardholder-initiated transaction (CIT)
Perform a pre-agreed standing instruction from the cardholder for the provision of goods or services

Examples of MITs include:

A hotel charge for mini-bar expenses tallied after the guest has checked-out and closed the folio
A subsequent recurring payment for a subscription

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What is and not

E-commerce purchases of goods or services made at a consumer’s request (such as ordering a ride) are not MITs. They are considered CITs because the cardholder is actively participating in the transaction.

TabaPay Clients can store a payment credential-on-file to process future purchases for a cardholder. A merchant may also temporarily retain payment credentials to complete a single purchase, which may include multiple authorization requests. The payment credentials temporarily retained to complete a single purchase are not considered as a stored credential-on-file (for example, when the merchant temporarily retains the credentials to process a partial or delayed shipment due to inventory constraints).

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FYI - Visa vs MasterCard
Visa Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) are permitted for use as Merchant-initiated transactions/
Recurring transactions.
MoneySend payment or funding transactions, gaming payment transactions do not require CIT or MIT indicators.

Potential Benefits

Opportunity for possible improved MIT authorization approval rates

Enables and accelerates growth of innovative eCommerce experience
Supports eCommerce token transactions
Enhanced with TabaPay Account Updater Service

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How to Register for the TabaPay MIT Service
Please contact your TabaPay representative or email [email protected] to get started.

Default behavior for TabaPay token clients

For TabaPay Clients who store TabaPay Tokens, the transactions that are performed using a TabaPay Account ID, will be by default considered as:

Card on File for all Visa transactions and
Cardholder Initiated Credential on File for all MasterCard transactions

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Decide before you develop
If this default behavior is not what you desire for your use cases, we strongly encourage you to consider participating and registering in the TabaPay MIT Service and make necessary development changes to bring about the experience you desire.
Please email [email protected] if you have questions.

How it works

Pre-requisite

TabaPay Clients must be registered for the TabaPay MIT Service to be able to enable MIT for both Visa and MasterCard.

Create Transaction API Changes

The Create Transaction API will support an MIT object that includes

(1) CIT-MIT Flag

(2) MIT indicator

(3) Purchase Identifier

(4) Original Network ID when CIT-MIT flag is MIT

(1) CIT-MIT Flag: Indicates to TabaPay whether the TabaPay Client is performing a cardholder-initiated or a merchant-initiated transaction.

Use CIT when consumer initiates the transaction
Use MIT when the consumer is not present

(2) MIT Indicator. This field contains an indicator for: Recurring payments where the cardholder and merchant have agreed to periodic billing for goods and services, such as utility bills and magazines. OR Installment payment that indicates that the message is being used for an installment payment. OR Credential on File OR a standing order with a standing instruction from cardholder to use the payment instrument for paying with a variable amount and fixed frequency.

Values are:

Credential on File
Standing Order (variable amount/fixed frequency)
Subscription (fixed amount/fixed frequency)
Installment

(3) Purchase Identifier: A TabaPay client generated unique identifier that remains the same for both the initial CIT and subsequent MITs. Issuers could use this identifier for correlating transactions. A reliable presence may improve issuer approval rates

Note: The value sent in the Create Transaction API Request of the CIT will have to be retained and passed in subsequent Merchant Initiated Transaction(s) that pertains to the same Cardholder MIT agreement.

(4) Original Network ID when CIT-MIT flag is MIT: For subsequent MITs, TabaPay Clients must pass the Network ID in the https://developers.tabapay.com/reference/transactioncreateCreate Transaction API Response of the Original 1st CIT.

Definitions

CIT MIT Flag	CIT-MIT Indicator	Definition	Example
CIT	Credential on File	Consumer agrees to store the credential on file with the merchant for future cardholder-initiated and/or merchant-initiated transactions that may occur from time to time, or consumer chooses to use a credential previously placed on file with the merchant when making a purchase.	The consumer initiates a purchase and merchant prompts consumer to store the credential-on-file for future cardholder-initiated purchases.
CIT	Standing Order (variable amount and fixed frequency)	Consumer agrees to store the credential-on-file and initiates a first transaction in a series intended to be for a variable amount and a fixed frequency.	The initial transaction to store the credential-on-file for a monthly utility payment.
CIT	Subscription (fixed amount and frequency)	Consumer agrees to store the credential-on-file and initiates a first transaction in a series intended to be for a fixed amount and a fixed frequency.	The initial transaction to store the credential-on-file for a monthly newspaper subscription.
CIT	Installment	Consumer agrees to store the credential-on-file to establish an installment plan and initiates a first transaction in a series. The installment plan should reflect the single purchase of goods/services with a known amount and set frequency over a specified duration.	The initial transaction to store the credential-on-file for a purchase to be paid through installment payments
MIT	(Unscheduled) Credential on File	A transaction made pursuant to an agreement between a cardholder and a merchant, whereby the cardholder authorizes the merchant to store and use the cardholder’s account data to initiate one or more future transactions. The transaction can be for a fixed or variable amount but does not occur at regular intervals on a scheduled date.	The consumer agrees to allow a tollway merchant to initiate transactions when the balance in the consumer account with the merchant falls below an established amount (auto top-up).
MIT	Standing Order (variable amount and fixed frequency)	A transaction made pursuant to an agreement between a cardholder and a merchant, whereby the cardholder authorizes the merchant to store and use the cardholder’s account data for a transaction that must occur at regularly scheduled intervals for a variable amount, as specified in the agreement.	Monthly utility payments.
MIT	Subscription(fixed amount and frequency)	A transaction made pursuant to an agreement between a cardholder and a merchant, whereby the cardholder authorizes the merchant to store and use the cardholder’s account data for a transaction that must occur at regularly scheduled intervals for a fixed amount, as specified in the agreement. The subscription agreement may include an allowance for introductory pricing or for price changes to occur from time to time.	Monthly subscription or fixed monthly service payment.
MIT	Installment	A transaction in a series of transactions made pursuant to an agreement between a cardholder and a merchant, whereby the cardholder authorizes the merchant to store the cardholder’s account data for use by the merchant to initiate one or more future transactions for a known amount over a specified duration based on a single purchase.	Purchase a television for $1,000 USD, pay in four equal installments of $250 USD (first transaction is CIT, remaining three transactions are MIT).

How does it work

Pre-Requisite: Registration

Initial CIT

Subsequent MIT

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Processing Apple Pay Merchant Tokens?
Apple Pay Merchant tokens MUST provide the MIT-CIT flag as well as the MIT indicator.
When using Apple Pay Merchant tokens, depending on the value of the CIT-MIT flag, cryptogram may or may not be required:

If flag is CIT, mobile pay object requires cryptogram

If flag is MIT, mobile pay object does not require cryptogram. Along with this MIT flag, merchant must include original transaction ID.

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Contact your TabaPay Representative
For integration details, please email [email protected]

FAQ

How do I participate in TabaPay’s MIT service?

Please work with your TabaPay representative to register for TabaPay MIT. Each network requires registration and we want to make sure you are suitably enabled.

What issuer decline reason codes will prevent the Original record from being stored?

Value	Response Code	Description
04	Pickup Card (no fraud)	A card has been canceled
07	Pickup card, special condition (fraud account)	Fraud-compromised account
14	Invalid account number (no such number)	Account number is not valid
41	Lost card - pickup	Cardholder has reported the card lost
43	Stolen card - pickup	Cardholder has reported card stolen
46	Closed Account	Account is clos

How does this process work with TabaPay Account Updater?

TabaPay Account Updater works independently of TabaPay MIT Service and if a credential is updated, it will be used in the MIT transaction.

How do I use MIT in combination with Apple Pay Merchant tokens?

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Contact us for more
For providing us details of the original transaction ID with MITs, please contact us. Today, TabaPay includes the Network ID with our Create Transaction API responses.

Apple Pay Merchant tokens MUST provide the MIT-CIT flag as well as the MIT indicator.

When using Apple Pay Merchant tokens, depending on the value of the CIT-MIT flag, cryptogram may or may not be required:

If flag is CIT, mobile pay object requires cryptogram
If flag is MIT, mobile pay object does not require cryptogram. Along with this MIT flag, merchant must include original transaction ID.