Improving approval.
WHY IT MATTERS
Declines are frequently the largest recoverable revenue loss in a payment flow.
WHAT AFFECTS APPROVAL
Data quality sent with the transaction Correct transaction indicators Merchant category and history Whether authentication was performed Retry behaviour The acquirer's relationship with issuers
WHAT DATA TO SEND
Everything the provider accepts: address, name, email, device, history.
WHY
Issuers approve more when they can assess risk.
WHAT LOCAL ROUTING PROVIDES
Higher approval when the acquirer is domestic to the issuer.
WHY THAT MATTERS FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Cards are declined more frequently when processed abroad.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Acquire locally in significant markets, where volume justifies it.
WHAT TO ANALYSE
Decline codes, grouped, by issuer and card type.
WHAT THAT REVEALS
Whether the problem is funds, risk, configuration or a specific issuer.
WHAT TO FIX FIRST
Configuration and data quality, which are free.
WHAT TO MEASURE
Approval rate, by method and issuer, over time.
WHAT TO INVESTIGATE
Sudden changes, which usually indicate a configuration or issuer change.
