With credit card transactions, different levels of data submission are critical for businesses engaged in different types of transactions. Referrers and Merchants can receive up to 40-100 basis points of reduced fees on their qualifying business and commercial card transactions.
There are three levels of interchange data submission available:
Level |
1 | Basic transaction data like card number, expiration date, CVV, and transaction amount that is required for standard business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions and |
provide standard interchange rates. |
Level |
2 | More detailed transaction data, like a sales tax |
and order number, is required for B2B transactions and |
can provide lower interchange rates. |
Level |
3 | Comprehensive transaction |
data like line item details and shipping |
for B2B transactions can qualify for the lowest interchange rates. |
Major card brands Visa & MasterCard each have specific requirements that merchants must adhere to to offer them the best interchange rates. American Express and Discover do not accept direct Level II 2 or Level III 3 data submissions for lower interchange rates at this time.Below is a breakdown of the key data required for Level II and Level III data submission for
| Tip |
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Tip: While not a requirement, it is recommended to submit the previous level of interchange data when submitting the following level. Example: When submitting Level 3 data, all Level 1 and Level 2 data requirements are already met to ensure the most visibility for Level 3 interchange rates. |
Below is a breakdown of the key data required for Level 2 and Level 3 data submission for each card brand.
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Note: Each additional level of data submission, Level I to Level II to Level III data, requires all data from the previous level in addition to the new data required. Example: In order to submit Level III data, all Level I and Level II data requirements must already be met to qualify for Level III interchange rates. |
Level I Interchange Data Requirements
All transactions, regardless of card brand, must meet these data requirements in order to qualify for basic interchange or Level I:
Merchant & Transaction Information - Basic data provided about the Merchant and Transaction, including:
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Merchant Name
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The name of the Merchant business selling products or services.
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Transaction Date
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The date that the transaction took place.
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Transaction Amount
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The total amount of the transaction charged to the customer.
Customer / Cardholder Information - Essential customer and card data used to pay, including:
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Customer Zip Code
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The billing zip code on file with the customer’s credit card company.
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Customer Billing Address
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The full billing address on file with the customer’s credit card company.
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Credit Card Number
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The 15 (AMEX) or 16-digit credit card number shown on the customer’s card.
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Card Expiration Date
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The 4-digit, MMYY-format expiration date shown on the customer’s card.
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Level 1 Interchange Data Requirements
All transactions, regardless of card brand, must meet these data requirements to qualify for basic interchange or Level 1:
Merchant & Transaction Information - Basic data provided about the Merchant and Transaction, including:
Merchant Name | The name of the Merchant business selling products or services. |
Transaction Date | The date that the transaction took place. |
Transaction Amount | The total amount of the transaction charged to the customer. |
Customer / Cardholder Information - Essential customer and card data used to pay, including:
Customer Zip Code | The billing zip code on file with the customer’s credit card company. |
Customer Billing Address | The full billing address on file with the customer’s credit card company. |
Credit Card Number | The 15 (AMEX) or 16-digit credit card number shown on the customer’s card. |
Card Expiration Date | The 4-digit, MMYY-format expiration date shown on the customer’s card. |
Card CVV | The 3 or 4-digit security code shown on the customer’s card. |
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Commodity Codes
The Commodity Code must be submitted in numeric-only formatting to meet requirements. Merchants should utilize the National Institute of Governmental Purchasings' (NIGP) Commodity Codes.
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A partial list of 7-digit NIGP commodity codes is available here:
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Level 2 and 3 Interchange Data Requirements
Each card brand will feature its own list of requirements necessary to receive interchange rates by using Level II 2 or Level III 3 data to qualify on its card network. Each major card brand - Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover - has been listed below with individual details to clearly explain their requirements.
Once you are familiar with these requirements, visit <<Submit Level II & III interchange data article>> Submit Interchange Data with Transactions below to learn the different methods available to submit this data.
| Tip |
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Tip: For developers and Portal users, we recommend using Visa’s Level II 2 and Level III 3 requirements as your data submission foundation for Level II 2 and Level II 1 submission for any card brand. Visa’s stringent standards cover all necessary elements for detailed transaction reporting. |
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Warning: For all ‘tax’ amount values, ensure the amount always corresponds to your local state or province regulations to ensure tax compliance. |
Visa
In addition to the parameter qualifications below, Visa also requires the following conditions to be met from Merchants before they can submit Level II or Level III data for lower interchange rates:
Merchants must process 1 to 6 million Visa transactions per year.
Merchants must process between $20,000 and $1,000,000 in e-commerce transactions per year.
Merchants must submit the following forms to the Visa Verification team:
Annual Attestation of Compliance (AOC)
Annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ)
Quarterly Network Scan by an Approved Scan Vendor (ASV2)
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Note: If you choose to optionally submit Level 2 data with Level 3 data, the tax rate must be set between 0.1% & 22% of the transaction amount when the tax amount is greater than $0.00.
Visa
Read more information about Visa requirements below:
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The following card types can be used for Level II 2 data submission:
In addition to the above, the following card types can be used for Level III 3 data submission:
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Level II 2 data must include all Level I 1 data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below. Sales Tax and Order Information - Sales tax information for each transaction including:
Merchant Information - Details about the Merchant selling the product or service items including: Customer Code The unique identifier assigned to customers or entities within the Merchant’s records. Merchant Zip Code The zip code where the Merchant’s business is located. | The tax identification number issued to the Merchant by their governmental tax agencyMerchant TIN
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| title | Visa - AdditionalLevel III 3 data must include all Level II 2 data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below. Order (Line) Item Details - Must provide detailed information for each item listed in a transaction including:
Discount, Shipping & Duty - Must provide shipping, duty, and tax information (if applicable) including:
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In addition to the interchange data requirements above, the Visa card network has specific additional requirements to qualify:
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Large Ticket transactions refer to transactions with a larger total dollar amount. Based Your interchange rate may change based on the transaction amount , your interchange rate may change to offer better pricing from Visa’s large ticket program for high-dollar-value transactions. In addition to the data requirements above, the Visa card network has specific additional requirements to qualify for Large Ticket interchange pricing:
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| title | MasterCard - Level III Data Requirements |
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Level III data must include all Level II data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below.
Line Item Details - Must provide detailed information for each item listed in a transaction including:
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Discount Amount
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Monetary reductions applied to the transaction total.
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Discount Per Line Item
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Monetary reductions applied to the product or service price for the line item.
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Item Description
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A detailed description of the product or service sold.
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Line Item Total
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Total transaction line item cost, calculated with quantity, unit price, discounts, tax, and shipping.
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Product Code
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A unique identifier used by the Merchant business to identify the specific product.
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Quantity
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The number of units sold.
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Unit of Measure
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A standardized unit used to quantify the quantity of the product or service.
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Warning: The following card types are ineligible for Level III interchange with MasterCard:
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In addition to the interchange data requirements above, the MasterCard card network has specific additional requirements to qualify:
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Large Ticket transactions refer to transactions with a larger total dollar amount. Based on the transaction amount, your interchange rate may change to offer better pricing from MasterCard’s large ticket program for high-dollar-value transactions. In addition to the data requirements above, the MasterCard network has specific additional requirements to qualify for Large Ticket interchange pricing:
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The following Merchant Commercial Code (MCC) types are disqualified from Level II or Level III data submission for interchange rate improvements: MasterCard Non-Compliant MCCs List: Non-Compliant MCCs Description of Merchant Business Type 3000–3999 Airlines/Car Rental Companies/Hotels
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MasterCard
In addition to the parameter qualifications below, MasterCard also requires the following conditions to be met from Merchants before they can submit Level II or Level III data for lower interchange rates:
Merchants must process a combined total of 1 to 6 million MasterCard & Maestro transactions per year.
Merchants must process between $20,000 and $1,000,000 in e-commerce transactions per year.
Merchants must submit the following forms to the MasterCard:
Annual Attestation of Compliance (AOC)
Annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ)
Quarterly Network Scan by an Approved Scan Vendor (ASV2)
Read more information about MasterCard requirements below:
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| title | MasterCard - Qualifying Card Types for Interchange Data Submission |
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The following card types can be used for Level II data submission:
Corporate Purchasing
Business Credit
Enhanced Business Credit
Signature Business Credit
In addition to the above, the following card types can be used for Level III data submission:
Corporate Credit
Purchasing Credit
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Commercial Prepaid card type is not eligible. |
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Warning: The following card types are ineligible for Level III data submission with MasterCard:
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| title | MasterCard - Level II Data Requirements |
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Level II data must include all Level I data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below.
Sales Tax Information - Sales tax information for each transaction including:
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Sales Tax Amount
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The total amount of sales tax applied to the transaction.
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Warning: The tax amount must be between 0.1% - 30% of the payment total to qualify. This is submitted using either a Sale or a Capture transaction type. |
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Sales Tax Indicator
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Specify whether sales tax is included in the transaction amount or not.
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Order Number
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A unique identifier used by the merchant to locate the specific transaction information.
Note: “Order Number” and “Invoice Number” are interchangeable terms for Level II and Level III data submission.
Merchant Information - Details about the Merchant selling the product or service items including:
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Customer Code
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The unique identifier assigned to customers or entities within the Merchant’s records.
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Merchant TIN
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The tax identification number issued to the Merchant by their governmental tax agency.
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MasterCard
Read more information about MasterCard requirements below:
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The following card types can be used for Level 2 data submission:
Note: MasterCard uses the term “Data Rate 2 and 3” to refer to Level 2 and Level 3 interchange data when referring to corporate/business purchases and cards. In addition to the above, the following card types can be used for Level 3 data submission:
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Level 2 data must include all Level 1 data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below. Sales Tax Information - Sales tax information for each transaction including:
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Level 3 data must include all Level 2 data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below. Item Details - Must provide detailed information for each item listed in a transaction including:
Note: When submitting a Level 3 transaction, the tax amount must be a percent between 0.1% & 30% of the transaction; it cannot be zero unless tax-exempt status is enabled by the Facilitator.
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In addition to the interchange data requirements above, the MasterCard card network has specific additional requirements to qualify:
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Large Ticket transactions refer to transactions with a larger total dollar amount. Your interchange rate may change based on the transaction amount to offer better pricing from MasterCard’s large ticket program for high-dollar-value transactions. In addition to the data requirements above, the MasterCard network has specific additional requirements to qualify for Large Ticket interchange pricing:
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MasterCard Non-Compliant MCCs List:
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American Express
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Merchants processing American Express transactions are required to obtain pre-approval before initiating Level II data processing. Level II data parameters from Visa or MasterCard would apply here.
To receive approval, Merchants must submit a “Level 2 Merchant’s Validation Documentation” which includes summaries from Quarterly Network Scan and a completed PCI Self Assessment Questionaire. Once granted, American Express accepts both Level I and Level II data, offering Level II interchange rates.
Visit the American Express US Data Security site for more information.
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Unavailable: American Express does not offer discounts or changes in interchanges rates for Level III data submissions |
Discover
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Unavailable: American Express does not offer any discounts or changes in interchanges rates for Level II or Level III data submissions. |
Submit Interchange Data with Transactions
To take advantage of lower interchange rates, this Level II and Level III data must be submitted alongside your transaction. This ensures the customer’s card brand network is able to receive and assess the data to determine which interchange rate the transaction will receive.
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Before you begin, we recommend checking each card’s eligibility for Level II and Level III processing as American Express and Discover don’t offer direct data submission options for Level II or III to qualify for lower interchange rates. A simple query shown below will quickly identify the card type:
The response will display the method (card brand), type (debit, credit or both), and card category (personal, corporate card, etc.), which will allow you to know before submitting the additional data, if the card brand network supports lower interchange rates or Level II or Level III data submissions. |
There are multiple methods to submit Level II or Level III data, read through the basic methods below to find the best workflow for your business:
Portal
The Portal offers a very simple way to manually enter and submit Level II and Level III values with payment transactions. Read the steps below to learn more:
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To submit Level II transaction data using the Create Payments page:
Click Process Payment to complete the submission. |
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To submit Level III transaction data using the Create Payments page:
Click Process Payment to complete the submission. |
API
The Payrix API provides a straightforward method of submitting Level II and Level III data values alongside transactions. Read the information below to learn more.
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| title | Submit Level II data using the Payrix API. |
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To submit Level II transaction data using the /txns Payrix API endpoint, send the following request:
| Code Block |
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POST https://test-api.payrix.com/txns |
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{
"merchant":"{yourMerchantID}",
"payment":{
"number":"{customerCardNumber}",
"cvv":"{customerCardCVV}"
}
"expiration":"MMYY",
"type":2,
"order":"INVOICE#1",
"total":7799,
"tax":100,
} |
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Required Parameters
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Type
...
Description
...
Valid Values / Format
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merchant
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string
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The identifier of the Merchant associated with this Transaction.
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payment
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object
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The payment method associated with this Transaction, including the card details.
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number
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number
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For credit payment method, the card number of the credit card associated with this Transaction.
For eCheck payment method, the bank account number is associated with this Transaction.
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cvv
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integer
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The Card Verification Value (CVV) number of the credit card associated with this Transaction.
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This field is expressed as a 3-digit integer.
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expiration
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number
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The expiration date of the credit card associated with this Transaction.
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This field is stored as a text string in 'MMYY' format, where 'MM' is the number of a month and 'YY' is the last two digits of a year. For example, '0623' for June 2023.
...
type
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integer
...
The type of Transaction.
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1 - Credit Card Only: Sale Transaction. Processes a sale and charges the customer.
2 - Credit Card Only: Auth Transaction. Authorizes and holds the requested total on the credit card.
3 - Credit Card Only: Capture Transaction. Finalizes a prior Auth Transaction and charges the customer.
4 - Credit Card Only: Reverse Authorization. Reverses a prior Auth or Sale Transaction and releases the credit hold.
5 - Credit Card Only: Refund Transaction. Refunds a prior Capture or Sale Transaction (total may be specified for a partial refund).
7 - eCheck Only: eCheck Sale Transaction. Sale Transaction for eCheck payment.
8 - eCheck Only: eCheck Refund Transaction. Refund Transaction for prior eCheck Sale Transaction.
11 - eCheck Only: eCheck Redeposit Transaction. Attempt to redeposit a prior failed eCheck Sale Transaction.
12 - eCheck Only: eCheck Account Verification Transaction. Attempt to verify eCheck payment details.
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total
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number
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The total amount of this Transaction.
...
This field is specified as an integer in cents.
...
tax
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integer
...
The amount of the total sum of this Transaction that is made up of tax.
...
This field is specified as an integer in cents.
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| title | Submit Level III data using the Payrix API. |
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To submit Level III transaction data using the /txns Payrix API endpoint, send the following request:
| Code Block | ||
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{
"merchant":"{yourMerchantID}",
"payment":{
"number":"{customerCardNumber}",
"cvv":"{customerCardCVV}"
}
"expiration":"MMYY",
"type":2,
"order":"INVOICE#1",
"total":7799,
"tax":100,
"items":[
{
"item":"Line Item #1",
"description":"Line Item Description"
"quantity":1,
"price":7799,
"um":"EACH",
"commodityCode":"1111999",
"total":5799,
"discount":-2000,
"productCode":"UPC12345"
},
]
} |
Note: Descriptions for Level II data shown here are available in the Submit Level II data using the Payrix API section above.
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Required Parameters
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Type
...
Description
...
Valid Values / Format
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items
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array of objects
...
The item or list of items associated with the transaction/order.
...
item
...
string
...
The line item name.
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description
...
string
...
The line item description.
...
Max length: 500 characters
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quantity
...
integer
...
The total number of units for the line item.
...
price
...
number
...
The individual line item price.
...
um
...
string
...
The line item units of measure.
Example: “pounds”, “days”, “hours”.
...
Max length: 100 characters
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commodityCode
...
string
...
The commodity code for this Item.
...
Max length:12 characters
...
total
...
integer
...
The total price for the line item.
...
This field is specified as an integer in cents
...
discount
...
integer
...
The discount for the line item.
...
This field is specified as an integer in cents.
...
productCode
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string
...
The product code for this Item such as: UPC, catalog number, or inventory number.
PayFields
PayFields is a unique offering that seamlessly integrates a payment gateway into your existing HTML website package and eliminates PCI Compliance risk. Submitting Level II
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| title | Submit Level II data using PayFields. |
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Step 1: Under your <script> tag containing PayFields.fields enter the following to add new Tax and Order fields to the PayFields
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<body>
<div>
<label for="tax">Tax Rate:</label>
<div id="number" value="yourTaxRate"></div>
</div>
<script>
PayFields.fields = [
{type: "number", element: "#number"},
{type: "cvv", element: "#cvv"},
{type: "name", element: "#name"},
{type: "address", element: "#address"},
{type: "expiration", element: "#expiration"}
{type: "tax", element: "#tax"}
{type: "order", element: "#order"}
];
</script>
</body> |
| Code Block |
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<body>
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...
| language | html |
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...
& Discover
There is no additional work or line item data submission required by American Express or Discover.
Both card brands provide lower interchange rates on their respective networks, calculated and adjusted based exclusively on the cardholder’s card type (e.g. business card, corporate card, etc.).