This mode submits a 1.00 authorization (by default; see details below); if it is successful, the authorization is voided. This is useful to determine the validity of a card and information submitted with it, such as CVV and address information. The customer is not charged.

Transaction Administration - Check Card

Overview

The Check Card operation validates a payment card by submitting a temporary authorization for a specified amount and automatically voiding it upon successful processing. It returns authorization results including AVS and CVV2 responses.

Legacy note: This mode is intended for existing/legacy applications. For new development, perform an AVS Only authorization instead by submitting a normal authorization (mode=auth) with transflags=avsonly and amount 0.00. See Account Identifiers and Flags and Card On File Requirements.

Request Parameters

Variable Requirement Type Max Size Possible Values / Example Description Notes
publisher-name Mandatory string N/A Example: gatewayuser Gateway account username issued to you.
publisher-password Mandatory string N/A Example: securepassword Remote Client Password used for API authentication. This differs from the admin login password.
mode Mandatory string N/A checkcard Specifies the card validation operation. Must be set to checkcard.
card-number Mandatory string 16 4111111111111111 Payment card number used for validation. Numeric characters only; no spaces or symbols.
card-exp Mandatory string 5 MM/YY Expiration date of the card. Must follow MM/YY format.
card-amount Optional decimal 10 1.00 Authorization amount used for validation. 1 Defaults to 1.00 if omitted or out of allowed range. Must be between 0.50 and 20.00.
transflags Optional string N/A cit, cit,init Card on File indicator for the validation. Use when validating a card that will be stored for future use. See Card On File Requirements.

Additional card, billing, and AVS fields may be submitted using the same field names as a normal authorization (mode=auth). See Section 1. Remote Authorization.

Response Parameters

Variable Value Description Notes
FinalStatus success, badcard, problem, fraud Overall result of the card check transaction. Indicates approval, decline, system issue, or fraud detection.
orderID string Transaction identifier for the card check. May be used as origorderid for subsequent Card on File transactions.
VoidStatus success, problem Status of the automatic void operation. success indicates successful reversal of authorization.
avs-code string Address Verification Service response code. See AVS Response Codes.
cvvresp M, N, Unavailable CVV verification result. M = match, N = mismatch.
resp-code string Processor response code. See Merchant Processor Response Codes.
MErrMsg string Error message returned on failure. Example: no records found or processor decline.

Notes

  • If card-amount is not provided or falls outside the allowed range, the system automatically defaults to 1.00.
  • The authorization is immediately voided upon successful validation.
  • When storing credentials after a successful check, set transflags to the appropriate CIT Card on File value (for example, cit,init).

⚠️ Formatting Rule (Applies to All Amount Fields)

  1. All monetary values must be numeric only in the format 1234.56. Do not include currency symbols, commas, or formatting. Exactly two decimal places are required. ↩︎