TabaPay Account Updater (TAU)

Automatically update details for stored cards on file.

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Get Started Now!

Are you an existing TabaPay client? Email [email protected] to register for TabaPay Account Updater.

TabaPay Account Updater (TAU) is a service that enables TabaPay clients who store cards on file with TabaPay to get them updated with the card networks to ensure they reflect the information available at the card issuer. This in turn addresses our client's need to run recurring payments and merchant initiated transactions on the cards on file without requiring their customer's to update them when the payment credential at the issuer has been updated for these reasons:

  • Account has been renewed or card has replaced/re-issued
  • Account has been upgraded/downgraded
  • Issuer portfolio acquisitions, mergers, or both
  • Lost or stolen card scenarios
  • Account closures
  • Network portfolio conversions

Card networks, both Visa and MasterCard, work with issuers to obtain the most current changes to cardholder account information that then get reflected on the card information that TabaPay stores on files for the clients.

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How often does card information change?!

On average, 30 percent of the card accounts in an issuer’s portfolio incur a change to the account number or expiration date, or are closed every year.

Source: U.S. statistics, cited in study by Auriemma Consulting Group – Automatic and Recurring Card Payments, Cardbeat US, Issue 5 2016

Popular Use Cases

  • Credential-on-file business models - allow your customers to save their payment details for an easy return checkout experience.
  • Installment payments - save your customer's payment and allow them to pay over time for financial flexibility.
  • Recurring payment services - save your customer's payment details for an ongoing subscription or service.

Other merchant-initiated transactions where credential is stored on file for future use.

Benefits of TabaPay Account Updater

Given 1/3rd of cards are re-issued every year, TabaPay Account Updater is a critical business function for clients.

Improved Customer Experiences: Enables TabaPay Clients to offer a seamless payment experience to their customers, and enjoy the revenue increases that come as a direct benefit to processing with freshest credentials

Improved Auth Approval Rates: Since you automatically retrieve refreshed card information for Visa and MasterCard cards, the number of declined or late payments resulting from outdated card information is eliminated.

Avoid Negative Experiences: For merchants that have cards on file (COF) or offer auto-pay for recurring billing, it reduces the risk of late and declined payments, helps prevent service disruptions for customers, and avoids unnecessary churn. TAU helps avoid the negative experiences that customers face with declined transactions. Declined transactions result in:

  • Service delays or worse, service cancellations
  • Costs from having to contact customers to update their payment credentials
  • Losing business when customers abandon a payment due to declines

Improved Cashflow: Maintains cashflow by reducing late and declined payments; bring down costs and effort associated with customer outreach due to outdated card details.

Cost Savings

Source: U.S. statistics, cited in Credential-on-file Pain Point Research conducted by Engine Group, Inc., June 2018

Source: U.S. statistics, cited in Credential-on-file Pain Point Research conducted by Engine Group, Inc., June 2018

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How do you decide what cards to update?

Only cards that have been a) expired b) lost/stolen c) closed or d) lifecycle declines i.e. for those cards that have received Network Response Code a) 54 b) 14 c) 46 and d) 79 respectively, are considered for a TAU run.

We explicitly look for Network Response Code: 54, 14, 46, and 79 in the Create Transaction Responses.

TAU Workflow

  1. Client registers for TabaPay Account Updater (TAU) service.
  2. TabaPay Account Updater runs weekly for all the tokens on file (have a corresponding account ID) with TabaPay.
  3. The next time Create Transaction API is invoked for a corresponding TabaPay token that was updated, the latest payment credentials come in to effect automatically.

Things to Know about TAU

  1. TabaPay runs TAU weekly for all our clients.
  2. Cardholders can opt-out of the account updater service with Issuers as well as opt-back-in to the service.
  3. Client qualifications:
    1. High-risk merchants cannot access account updater services
    2. Merchant portfolio must not contain more than 20% high-risk merchant activity
    3. Merchants must be in good-standing with card networks' risk management programs

TAU FAQs

What is the frequency of TAU runs?

Frequency is up to the TabaPay client.

Will TabaPay run it for all cards all the time?

No, currently, only cards that have been a) expired b) lost/stolen c) closed or d) lifecycle declines i.e. for those cards that have received Network Response Code a) 54 b) 14 c) 46 and d) 79 respectively, are considered for a TAU run.

Will TabaPay be providing real-time updates to card?

Yes, we have plans for it, and will be rolling out soon! Watch this space closely!

If a card is permanently closed at an issuer, what are the options?

TabaPay provides a list of all updated credentials. We strongly recommend you update those account IDs that are in this category with a new card.

Will TabaPay notify of permanently closed cards?

Yes.

What cards do get updated?

Visa and MasterCard that are on our file in lost/stolen, expired , or closed status. TabaPay provides a report of all the updates.

What are the response codes from Visa for TAU?

Refer to Account Updater Best Practices for a full list of Mastercard response code for TAU.

What are the response codes from MasterCard for TAU?

Refer to Account Updater Best Practices for a full list of Mastercard response code for TAU.

What does TabaPay bill for?

Billable events: 1) Account number update 2) Expiration date update 3) Closed account advice 4) Contact cardholder advice.

What are the non-billable events?

1) Cardholder opted-out 2) Validation, account number, and expiration date unchanged 3) Participating BIN, no match 4) Non-participating BIN.