Transaction Approval

A transaction approval is the positive answer an issuer gives to an authorisation request, telling the merchant that a card or account payment may proceed. In card payments the request travels from the merchant through the acquirer and card network to the issuer, which checks the card status, available funds or credit, and fraud signals before replying. An approved response carries a response code, commonly 00 in ISO 8583 messages, and an approval code (also called an authorisation code) that the merchant stores as proof. Approval usually places an authorization hold on the cardholder's funds but does not move money; that happens later through capture, clearing and settlement. Issuers may also return a partial approval for less than the amount requested. The opposite outcomes are covered under payment decline, and the full process under payment authorization.