The Qualification Guide Interchange Report lists the MasterCard or Visa Association requirements for a specific qualification level. You can use the report to determine which elements were missing from a transaction or which elements might have triggered a downgrade.

1. On any report summary page, from the Please select a Qualification level drop-down list, select an interchange qualification level you believe the transaction should have qualified for.

   

   Note: For MasterCard transactions, only MasterCard qualification levels appear in the list. For Visa transactions, only Visa qualification levels appear in the list.

   The page refreshes to include the Qualification Guide Interchange Report as a table listing the values that are required for the selected interchange level.

   

2. Compare the transaction details in the P & V Value column against the association requirements for the specific category in the Guide Value column.

Follow these tips when troubleshooting interchange rate qualification:

• For Visa transactions, check the ACI value first. If it is N, then the transaction cannot qualify for any Custom Payment Service (CPS) programs. Usually, an N indicates a problem with the authorization. Check the authorization fields and verify that all data are valid.

  For Mastercard, this is used by clients and TSYS in Clearing and Settlement to identify Travel Industries Premier Service (TIPS) and Service Industries Recurring Payment transactions.

  For Visa, this is used in conjunction with the RPS indicator to identify the characteristics of the CPS transaction authorization. Possible values for Visa:

  • A: Card present.
  • C: Card present with merchant name and location data (cardholder-activated, self-service terminal).
  • E: Card present with merchant name and location data.
  • F: Card not present—Account Funding.
  • K: Card present with key–entry.
  • M: Card not present—Direct Marketing (no Address Verification Service—Germany).
  • N: Not a payment service transaction.
  • P: Card not present (Preferred Customer participation requested).
  • R: Card not present (Address Verification Service not required).
  • S: Electronic Commerce 3D Secure Attempts.
  • T: A CPS Program was not available when authorized.
  • U: Card not present—3D Secure Electronic Commerce.
  • V: Card not present (Address Verification Service requested).
  • W: Card not present—Non-3D Secure Electronic Commerce.
  • X: Disqualified custom payment service transaction (inserted by BASE II).
• Verify whether an AVS was performed for the transaction. Some interchange levels require it.

  A code assigned by the card brand to indicate the response to an Address Verification Service (AVS) request, as returned in the original authorization response message.

  Note: Codes 1-8 are only for American Express transactions.

  Code	Description
  <Space>	Not applicable.
  1	Cardholder name matches.
  2	Cardholder name, billing address, and postal code match.
  3	Cardholder name and billing postal code match.
  4	Cardholder name and billing address match.
  5	Cardholder name incorrect, billing address and postal code match.
  6	Cardholder name incorrect, billing postal code matches.
  7	Cardholder name incorrect, billing address matches.
  8	Cardholder name, billing address, and postal code are all incorrect.
  A	Address match only; ZIP code does not match.
  B	Street addresses match for international transaction. Postal code not verified due to incompatible formats. (Acquirer sent street address and postal code.)
  C	Street address and postal code not verified for international transaction due to incompatible formats (Acquirer sent street address and postal code).
  D	Street addresses and postal codes match for international transaction.
  E	Error response for Merchant Category Code.
  F	Address does compare and five-digit ZIP code does compare (UK only).
  G	Address information is unavailable; international transaction; non-AVS participant.
  I	Address information not verified for international transaction.
  M	Street addresses and postal codes match for international transaction.
  N	Address and ZIP code do not match.
  P	Postal codes match for international transaction. Street address not verified due to incompatible formats (Acquirer sent street address and postal code).
  R	Retry; system unavailable or timed out.
  S	Service not supported.
  U	Address information is unavailable; domestic transaction.
  W	Nine-digit ZIP code matches, but address does not match.
  X	Exact match, address, and nine-digit ZIP code match.
  Y	Address and five-digit ZIP code match.
  Z	Five-digit ZIP code matches, but address does not match.

• Pay attention to the POS Entry Mode and Cardholder ID Method. They indicate whether the cardholder was present, a signature was obtained, and the card was swiped.

  Indicates how the cardholder was identified at the time of the transaction. For MasterCard, known as the Cardholder Authentication Method.

  Possible values for Visa:

  • <Space>: Not specified
  • 1: Signature
  • 2: PIN
  • 3: Unattended terminal; no PIN pad
  • 4: Mail/Telephone or Electronic Commerce

  Possible values for MasterCard:

  • 0: Not authenticated
  • 1: PIN
  • 2: Electronic signature analysis
  • 5: Manual signature verification
  • 6: Other manual verification (such as a driver’s license number)
  • 9: Unknown; data not available
  • S: Other systematic verification

  For Visa, this identifies how the transaction was captured at the point of sale. Possible values for Visa:

  • <Space>: Not specified.
  • 00: Terminal not used.
  • 01: Key-entered.
  • 02: Magnetic stripe read (track 2 when known or when the terminal makes no distinction between track 1 and track 2).
  • 03: Bar code read.
  • 04: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) read.
  • 05: Integrated circuit card read—CVV or iCVV data reliable.
  • 06: Track 1 read.
  • 07: Proximity Payment originating using VSDC chip data rules.
  • 83: Radio Frequency Identification Indicator (CHIP).
  • 84: MICR Reader (SMS transactions only' not applicable to BII transactions).
  • 90: Complete magnetic stripe read and transmitted (CVV).
  • 91: Proximity Payment originating using magnetic strip data rules.
  • 95: Integrated circuit card read—CVV or iCVV data unreliable.

  For MasterCard, this indicates the method by which the Primary Account Number (PAN) was entered into the interchange system. Possible values for MasterCard PAN entry:

  • 00: PAN entry mode unknown.
  • 01: PAN manual entry.
  • 02: PAN auto-entry via magnetic stripe—track data is not required. (Or the acquirer is not qualified to use a value of 90 so MasterCard replaced the 90 or 91with the value 02.)
  • 03: PAN auto-entry via bar code reader.
  • 04: PAN auto-entry via optical character reader (OCR).
  • 05: PAN auto-entry via chip.
  • 07: PAN auto-entry via contactless M/Chip.
  • 79: Chip card at chip-capable terminal was unable to process transaction using data on the chip or magnetic stripe on the card; therefore, PAN entry via manual entry (or MasterCard adjusts this data element value from 80 to the value 79 if the acquirer is not qualified to send a DE 22 containing the value 90).
  • 80: Chip card at chip-capable terminal was unable to process transaction using data on the chip; therefore, the terminal defaulted to the magnetic stripe-read PAN. The full track data has been read from the data encoded on the card and transmitted within the Authorization Request/0100 in DE 45 (Track 1 Data) or DE 35 (Track 2 Data) without alteration or truncation. To use this value, the acquirer must be qualified to use the value 90.
  • 81: PAN entry via electronic commerce, including chip.
  • 90: PAN auto-entry via magnetic stripe—the full track data has been read from the data encoded on the card and transmitted within the authorization request in DE 35 (Track 2 Data) or DE 45 (Track 1 Data) without alteration or truncation.
  • 91: PAN auto-entry via contactless magnetic stripe—the full track data has been read from the data on the card and transmitted within the authorization request in DE 35 (Track 2 Data) or DE 45 (Track 1 Data) without alteration or truncation.
  • 95: Visa only. Chip card with unreliable Card Verification Value (CVV) data.
• Verify that the transaction's MCC Code qualifies for the interchange level.

  A four-digit number that indicates the merchant's industry. For MasterCard, also known as card acceptor business codes. See the MCC Codes list.