Card transaction flows
This section explains the card payment types supported by our platform. It helps you choose the correct flow for your use case (one-off purchase, preauthorization, recurring billing, or merchant-initiated charges using stored credentials).
We distinguish between:
- Cardholder-initiated transactions (CIT) – the customer is actively present in the online checkout and explicitly confirms the payment.
- Merchant-initiated transactions (MIT) – you charge a previously stored credential when the customer is not actively present, based on a prior agreement.
Cardholder-initiated transactions (CIT)
The customer actively participates and authorizes the payment in real time.
CIT transactions can have the following types:
| Type | Summary | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | Single-step sale. Authorization and capture happen together for immediate fulfillment. | Purchase |
| Card-on-file registration | Store a payment credential for future MIT use without charging the customer. | Card on file |
| Card-on-file preauthorization | Place a hold on funds and store the credential in a single step; capture later when the final amount is known. | Card on file |
| Recurring initial | First payment in a recurring plan; creates the stored credential. | Recurring transactions |
| Preauthorization | Place a hold on funds and capture later when the final amount is known. | Preauthorization |
| Card-on-file preauthorization | Place a hold on funds and, at the same time, store the credential for future MIT transactions; capture later when the amount is known. | Preauthorization |
| Recurring initial preauthorization | Initial preauthorization for a recurring plan: place a hold on funds, capture the first payment when the final amount is known, then continue with MIT cycles. | Preauthorization |
Merchant-initiated transactions (MIT)
You charge the customer using a stored credential when the customer is not actively present (for example, for subscriptions, usage-based billing, or no-show fees).
All MIT transactions must be based on a valid agreement created during a prior CIT.
| Type | Summary | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Card-on-file subsequent (unscheduled) | Merchant-initiated charge using a stored credential on an ad-hoc or event-driven basis (no fixed schedule). | Card on file |
| Recurring subsequent | Scheduled repeat charge in a recurring plan using the stored credential. | Recurring transactions |
| Capture | Completion of a prior preauthorization; funds are captured with no new authorization request. | Capture |
Updated 8 days ago