Transaction states and types

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Some of the terms used in this guide refer to the different stages of a transaction lifecycle. To better understand this guide we suggest that you look at our transaction lifecycle guide.

Transaction states

As you start to issue cards in your card program and cardholders start to make payments with them, you'll see transactions being logged in the Transactions tab in the Developer Portal (or when fetching them through our APIs):

Each transaction is represented by the state field. Here are the possible transaction states explained:

State	Description
Pending	Indicates the transaction has been authorized and funds are on hold in the cardholder account. However, the transaction hasn't been cleared yet and the merchant can still reverse or amend the final transaction amount. Funds have not been transferred to the merchant account.
Complete	The transaction was authorized and funds were transferred from the cardholder account to the merchant account. The amount might differ from what was initially billed, depending on whether the merchant amended the final amount (adding tips, adjusting price, etc...).
Declined	Either the transaction was not authorized, because the card isn't active or there weren't enough funds on the cardholder account, or the merchant reversed the transaction after being successfully authorized.

Transaction types

There are different types of transactions depending on their context and what is their goal.

Here are all the possible transaction types:

Type	Description
PURCHASE	The most common transaction type. Indicates the cardholder purchased a good or service in either a physical store or an online store. Such a transaction typically contains all information required for authorization and clearing in separate electronic messages.
PIN_PURCHASE	Occurs when a cardholder makes a payment using their PIN. Such a transaction typically contains all the information required for authorization and clearing in a single electronic message.
PENDING	Generally, this state is when a transaction has been authorized and not yet completed.
DECLINE	Transactions that are not authorized for any reason. The most common is not sufficient funds.
REVERSAL	These transactions occur after the authorization has succeeded but before clearing and settlement have taken place. At this point, the merchant can cancel the transaction without having to refund the cardholder, as the funds haven't moved yet.
REFUND	Indicates an amount previously spent that should be returned to the cardholder. Unlike reversal, this happens when funds have already been moved to the merchant account but the cardholder asks for a refund (i.e., when returning a product).
WITHDRAWAL	Indicates the cardholder intends to withdraw some money from their account. Usually at an ATM in a physical location.
BALANCE_INQUIRY	Cardholder checks their account balance at an ATM.
DEBIT	Debit operation on the card, which can occur on bill payments or loading another payment source with the card.
CREDIT	Indicates an amount that should be transferred to another payment source, for instance when adding funds to a prepaid card.
NON_FINANCIAL	Operations not related to funds movement like changing the card PIN on an ATM.