ACH Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions allow the Merchant to accept payment from or make a payment to the Customer’s Bank Account. Version: 1.11 (a) Published: 1 August 2017 ACH Table of Contents 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Overview .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Account Configuration ................................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Chargebacks .............................................................................................................................. 3 2 Process overview ............................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Account Check ........................................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Authorisation Request ................................................................................................................ 8 2.4 Settlement .................................................................................................................................. 9 2.5 Confirmation ............................................................................................................................. 10 2.6 Settle Status ............................................................................................................................. 11 2.7 Refunds .................................................................................................................................... 12 3 ACH Account Check ...................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 XML ACH Account Check Request ......................................................................................... 13 3.2 XML ACH Account Check Response ....................................................................................... 18 4 ACH Authorisation ......................................................................................................................... 23 4.1 XML ACH Authorisation Request ............................................................................................. 23 4.2 XML ACH Authorisation Response .......................................................................................... 27 5 ACH Authorisation with Account Check ..................................................................................... 31 5.1 XML ACH Authorisation with Account Check Request ............................................................ 31 5.2 XML ACH Authorisation with Account Check Response ......................................................... 34 6 ACH Refund .................................................................................................................................... 37 6.1 XML ACH Refund Request ...................................................................................................... 37 6.2 XML ACH Refund Response ................................................................................................... 40 7 ACH Transaction Query ................................................................................................................. 42 7.1 XML ACH Transaction Query Request .................................................................................... 42 7.2 XML ACH Transaction Query Response ................................................................................. 42 8 ACH Transaction Update ............................................................................................................... 43 8.1 XML Transaction Update Request Example ............................................................................ 43 8.2 XML Transaction Update Response Example ......................................................................... 43 9 Additional Notes ............................................................................................................................. 44 9.1 System Limitations ................................................................................................................... 44 9.2 Card Store ................................................................................................................................ 44 9.3 Subscriptions and Tokenisation ............................................................................................... 44 9.4 Supported Currencies .............................................................................................................. 44 9.5 Mail or Telephone Order .......................................................................................................... 44 10 Testing ......................................................................................................................................... 45 10.1 Account Check Requests (ACCOUNTCHECK) ....................................................................... 45 10.2 Authorisation Requests (AUTH) and Chargebacks (CHARGEBACK) .................................... 45 11 Further Information and Support ............................................................................................. 48 11.1 Secure Trading Support ........................................................................................................... 48 11.2 Secure Trading Sales ............................................................................................................... 48 11.3 Useful Documents .................................................................................................................... 48 11.4 Frequently Asked Questions .................................................................................................... 48 12 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................... 49 © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 2 / 51 ACH 1 Introduction Automated Clearing House (ACH) bank transfers allow the merchant to accept payment directly from a customer’s bank account. The merchant can also transfer money directly to a customer’s bank account, either by refunding a previous transaction, or by performing a Cardholder Funds Transfer (CFT) Request. 1.1 Overview This document describes processing ACH Bank Transfers using the Secure Trading Payment Platform (STPP). It pays specific attention to the XML fields used to create ACH Requests and the information returned in the Response. The examples specified may include other fields not covered in this document. Details of these fields are available in the STPP XML Specification (see section 11.3 Useful Documents on page 48). Of the fields outlined within this document, Secure Trading may add additional fields and tags in the future; we would therefore recommend that you do not build your application to only accept these tags. Please note the order of the tags cannot be guaranteed. Some tags may be returned in a different order to the examples in this document. 1.2 Account Configuration There are a few steps the merchant needs to have considered to begin processing ACH bank transfers. The merchant may require new accounts with different providers. 1.2.1 Acquiring Bank The merchant must have an account with an acquirer that supports ACH bank transfers and is integrated with Secure Trading. 1.2.2 Secure Trading The merchant will need to have an account with Secure Trading. For more information, contact Secure Trading Sales (see section 11.2 Secure Trading Sales on page 48). The merchant will need to provide the support team with their ACH account details to allow them to enable ACH on their Secure Trading account (see section 11.1 Secure Trading Support on page 48). 1.2.3 Notifications Secure Trading recommends that all merchants implementing ACH bank transfers configure URL notifications to be kept informed of when ACH transfers have been updated/completed on their accounts. For more information, please refer to the Notifications documentation (see section 11.3 Useful Documents on page 48). 1.3 Chargebacks ACH transactions may be subject to Chargebacks. An ACH Chargeback is a payment that is initiated when a customer successfully disputes an item on their bank account statement. The full amount is transferred back to the customer’s account from the merchant’s, on request of the customer’s bank. It is strongly recommended that all merchants with ACH accounts read Secure Trading’s Chargeback documentation (see section 11.3 Useful Documents on page 48) so that they are fully aware of the Chargeback process and how to manage them. © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 3 / 51 ACH 2 Process overview 2.1 Summary There are a number of different parties involved in Automated Clearing House (ACH) bank transfers. These are listed, below: The Customer - The purchaser of goods or services. They will process a payment by supplying their ACH bank details to the merchant. The Merchant – The seller of goods or services. They will need to have an account with Secure Trading. Secure Trading – The Payment Service Provider. They facilitate the transaction, by securely contacting the merchant’s acquiring bank. The Merchant’s Bank – Performs checks on the customer’s bank account details and authorises transfers. Below is a summary of the process of a typical ACH bank transfer: Sending the XML Request In a typical transaction where the customer is paying the merchant, the customer sends their bank details directly to the merchant, who then constructs an Account Check and Authorisation (AUTH) XML Request and submits it to Secure Trading’s Payment Gateway. Account Check Secure Trading then securely contacts the merchant’s acquirer, which carries out checks on the payment details provided by the customer and returns the results of these checks back to Secure Trading. The merchant may decide to not proceed with the processing of further transactions, if the Account Check Response does not match a certain criteria, by establishing rules with the Secure Trading support team. Otherwise, Secure Trading will securely contact the merchant’s acquirer to seek authorisation for the bank transfer. Authorisation Secure Trading will contact the merchant’s acquiring bank to arrange for Authorisation. Secure Trading will automatically schedule settlement on all recently authorised payments. Transfers that have been declined by the merchant’s acquirer are cancelled immediately. Settlement Secure Trading checks for confirmation that the transfer was settled, daily. After a holding period defined by the merchant’s acquirer, the acquirer informs Secure Trading that the transfer was either settled or cancelled, and they update their records respectively. © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 4 / 51 ACH Diagram of Entire Process Overview – Combined Account Check with Authorisation Request Account Check Step 1) The Customer Step 2) The Merchant Step 3) Secure Trading Step 4) Merchant Bank opts to make an ACH submits an XML Request validates the Request processes the Account Bank Transfer on the to Secure Trading. and sends the Check request received and merchant’s website. Customer’s bank details returns a response. to the Merchant’s Bank. Step 5) Secure Trading receives results of the checks from the Merchant’s Bank. Step 6) If the Account Check returns a NOT MATCHED response, the Merchant will receive an XML Response and the Authorisation will NOT proceed. NOT MATCHED – (4) MATCHED – (2) NOT CHECKED – (1) Bank concludes Customer’s Bank concludes Customer’s Bank undecided or unable account is high risk. account is low risk. to complete checks. Authorisation Step 7) Secure Trading sends details to the Merchant’s Bank to authorise the transfer. Step 8) The Merchant’s Step 9) The Merchant receives an XML Bank processes the Response from Secure Trading request and updates their containing results of Account Check and records. Authorisation. DECLINED AUTHORISED Settlement Step 10) Secure Trading sends details to the Merchant’s Bank to settle the transfer. Step 11) Secure Trading regularly checks for Step 12) Any settlement notifications that confirmation from the have been configured would be sent once Merchant’s Bank. transactions have been officially confirmed to be cancelled or settled. CANCELLED SETTLED The Merchant’s Bank The Merchant’s Bank informs Secure Trading that informs Secure Trading that the funds were not the funds have been settled. transferred. © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 5 / 51 ACH 2.2 Account Check An Account Check is an optional request that allows payment details to be validated by checking the account’s status. No funds will be reserved or transferred by the Account Check Request. Secure Trading allows Account Checks to be carried out on ACH accounts for select acquirers. Please contact support for information on which Acquirers support Account Check (see section 11.1 Secure Trading Support). The merchant may decide to not proceed with the processing of further transactions, if the Account Check Response does not match a certain criteria. This is achieved by contacting the support team and setting up rules that act on the security response field. The following steps outline the process of sending an Account Check Request to Secure Trading: Step 2) Secure Trading Step 1) The Merchant validates the Request submits an XML Request and sends the to Secure Trading. Customer’s bank details to the Merchant’s Bank. Step 3) The Bank performs verification checks; is the Customer’s account valid and in good standing? Step 4) The Bank checks the Customer’s details against a National negative database. Step 5) Secure Trading receives the results of these checks from the Merchant’s Bank. Step 6) The Merchant receives an XML Response from Secure Trading with results of the checks. NOT CHECKED – (1) MATCHED – (2) NOT MATCHED – (4) Bank undecided or unable Bank concludes Customer’s Bank concludes Customer’s to complete checks. account is low risk. account is high risk. Figure 1 - Process Overview of Account Check for ACH © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 6 / 51 ACH 2.2.1 Account Verification Check The merchant’s acquirer will perform checks to verify that the customer’s account is valid and in good standing. The response returned following these checks can either be ‘2 – Matched’ (low risk), ‘4 – Not Matched’ (high risk) or ‘1 – Not Checked’. Transactions that do not receive a definitive response may be checked against the negative database (see section 2.2.2 Negative Database). Secure Trading recommends against proceeding with further transactions using payment details that return the ‘4 – Not Matched’ response. For further details, please see section 3.2.4 <security> on page 20. 2.2.2 Negative Database Check The merchant’s acquirer may also search a large National database for negative reports against the payment details submitted in the XML Request. This database contains information on over 150 million accounts. Checks against the negative database can only return a ‘2 – Matched’ or ‘4 – Not Matched’ response. Secure Trading recommends against proceeding with further transactions using payment details that return the ‘4 – Not Matched’ response. For further details, please see section 3.2.4 <security> on page 20. Please note that the Negative Database check may need to be enabled by your acquirer before it can be used as part of Account Check Requests. Please contact your acquiring bank for further information. Please note that Secure Trading allows Account Checks to be combined with an Authorisation in the same request. A summary of an Authorisation Request can be found in section 2.3 Authorisation Request. 2.2.3 Security Response After performing an Account Check, you are returned a security response from the acquiring bank, in the form of a number, which indicates the result of the checks performed on the customer’s bank account details. A detailed XML specification of the security response can be found in section 3.2.4 <security> on page 20. When performing combined ACH Account Check and Authorisation Requests, it is recommended that you contact support in order to set up rules, which use the results of the Account Check carried out by the acquiring bank to either allow or prevent future authorisations. 2.2.4 Rules Rules can be assigned on your account by the Secure Trading support team, which will use the results of the Account Check to decide whether or not to process an associated Authorisation transaction. The recommended process flow is as follows: 1. If the Account Check returns a ‘Matched’ or ‘Not Checked’ response, then process the Authorisation. 2. If the Account Check returns a ‘Not Matched’ response, then do NOT process an Authorisation. Please note the default process flow can be customised. For more information, please contact Secure Trading support (see section 11.1 Secure Trading Support on page 48). An alternative to having rules set up is that your system has this logic present which determines whether or not to submit an Authorisation Request based on the Account Check Response. © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 7 / 51 ACH 2.3 Authorisation Request Step 1) The Merchant Step 2) Secure Trading Step 3) The Merchant’s submits an XML Request validates the request and Bank processes the to Secure Trading. sends the details to the request. Merchant’s Bank. Step 4) Secure Trading returns an XML Response to the Merchant. The Merchant’s Bank has The Merchant’s Bank has authorised the transfer declined the transfer request request. or the request failed. settlestatus is set to settlestatus is set to “0” - Automatic “3” - Cancelled Figure 2 - Process Overview of Authorisation Please note that after an ACH bank transfer request has been authorised, it is possible for you to update some of the details or cancel the transfer altogether, by following the steps outlined in section 8 ACH Transaction Update. Please note that Secure Trading allows Authorisations to be combined with an Account Check in the same request. A summary of an Account Check Request can be found in section 2.2 Account Check. Please note that ACH transactions are cancelled by Secure Trading if they have not been settled within 7 days of being authorised. © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 8 / 51 ACH 2.4 Settlement Merchants can be informed on transactions that are settled, through the use of Notifications. For more information, please refer to the Notifications documentation (see section 11.3 Useful Documents on page 48). Secure Trading will contact the Merchant’s Bank daily to start the settlement process for recently authorised ACH transactions. The settlestatus is set to “10” - Settling, and remains this way until the Merchant’s Bank confirms the settlement is complete via confirmation. Figure 3 - Process Overview of Settlement Please note that after Secure Trading starts the settlement procedure on an authorised ACH bank transfer request, you will no longer be able to update or cancel the transaction. If you would like to stop the transfer at this stage, you will need to contact your acquirer. Please note that the time between a transaction being sent for settlement and receiving confirmation of settlement depends on the holding day period defined by your acquirer. For more information on holding days, please contact your acquirer. © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 9 / 51 ACH 2.5 Confirmation Secure Trading will contact the Merchant’s Bank daily to check if any outstanding ACH transactions have been settled. The settlestatus is set to The settlestatus is set to “100” - Settled, “3” - Cancelled, if the transaction has been if the transaction has been confirmed as settled by the confirmed to be cancelled Merchant’s Bank. by the Merchant’s Bank. Figure 4 - Process Overview of Confirmation Once details of the transaction have been sent to the merchant’s acquirer to be settled, Secure Trading will check for confirmation from the acquirer on a daily basis. Funds can be captured at any time between the settlement request and receiving confirmation from the acquirer. When Secure Trading finally receives this confirmation, the settlestatus is updated to a final value: If the transaction has been confirmed to be successful and the funds have been transferred, the settlestatus is set to 100. If the transaction has failed, and no funds have been transferred, the settlestatus is set to 3 Please note that it is possible to set up custom notifications on ACH transactions processed through the Secure Trading system. For more information, please refer to the Notifications documentation (see section 11.3 Useful Documents on page 48). © Secure Trading Limited 2017 1 August 2017 Page 10 / 51
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