Glossary
Authorisation
The issuer's decision to approve or decline a payment request.
When a customer pays by card, the acquirer sends an authorisation request to the issuer. The issuer checks available funds, fraud signals and the card's status, then approves or declines.
An approved authorisation reserves the funds but does not move them. The merchant must capture the payment within a set period, or the hold expires.
Authorisation rate, the share of attempts that are approved, is one of the most watched measures in cross-border payments.