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A customer initiated transaction (CIT) is a payment where the cardholder is actively present and initiates the charge — for example, completing a checkout flow or entering their card details at the point of sale. Because the cardholder is participating in real time, CITs are the foundation of the payment flow: they establish cardholder consent, verify funds, and can serve as the reference point for future merchant initiated transactions. If approved, the authorization reserves the requested amount and must be captured to complete the transfer of funds. When to Use
  • You need to verify a customer has sufficient funds before processing a transaction, or
  • You want to reserve funds for a future capture (e.g., for items that will ship later), or
  • You need to secure payment before providing goods or services.
ExampleBen opens an online subscription to StreamHQ’s monthly video streaming service plan. StreamHQ submits a customer initiated transaction to start his first month.

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Steps

  1. Call the authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransaction mutation, passing in the required and optional input fields:
Required inputDescription
acceptorIDThe unique, 36 character identifier assigned to the entity providing the goods or services to the cardholder. Other processors may refer to this as the Merchant ID (MID), Outlet ID, or Customer number.
transactionReferenceThe unique transaction identifier created by YOU to distinguish this transaction from another.
paymentMethodDetailsIncludes the pertinent payment method details, whether the customer is paying with a card or bank transfer, and if those details are saved within a token.
transactionAmountDetailsThe amount of the transaction and its currency.
automaticCaptureSpecifies if the authorization should be automatically captured upon approval.

If you instruct to not automatically capture the authorization, keep track of the paymentId in the response, as it will be needed to capture the authorization. If you instructed to automatically capture upon aproval, then you are done with the authorization.

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Automatic capture

Automatically capturing an authorization upon approval instructs Tesouro to submit a capture request on your behalf without requiring additional information or actions from you. To know if you should automatically capture upon approval, use the following chart:
ScenariosInput
If the final amount to capture will NOT change
from the authorized amount

And all product line items will be shipped
(or rendered) together		automaticCapture:"ON_APPROVAL"
If the final amount to capture may change
from the authorized amount

And some or all of the purchased goods or
services are not immediately available to ship
or render at the time of authorization.		automaticCapture:"NEVER"
If the authorization is not captured or reversed within 10 days, you will be assessed a Misuse of Authorization fee.

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Payment transaction reason

When submitting an authorization, accurately specifying the reason for the payment request can:
  • Help qualify the transaction for better interchange rates
  • Ensure proper processing and reporting
  • Comply with relevant financial regulations
If a reason is not provided, it will default to GENERAL_PURCHASE. Supported reasons:
ValueDescription
GENERAL_PURCHASEStandard purchases of goods or services.
DEBT_REPAYMENTThe payment will be used to reduce or eliminate an outstanding debt, such as credit card balances, loans, or other forms of borrowing.
mutation AuthorizeCustomerInitiatedTransaction($input: AuthorizeCustomerInitiatedTransactionInput!) {
  authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransaction(
    authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransactionInput: $input
  ) {
    authorizationResponse {
      status: __typename
      cardDetails {
        paymentBrand
        last4
      }
      tokenDetails {
        token
      }
      transactionId
      paymentId
    }
    errors {
      ... on Error {
        message
        __typename
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransaction": {
      "authorizationResponse": {
        "status": "AuthorizationApproval",
        "networkApprovalCode": "808907",
        "authorizationAmountDetails": {
          "approvedAmount": 36,
          "requestedAmount": 36,
          "currency": "USD"
        },
        "cardDetails": {
          "paymentBrand": "VISA",
          "last4": "0005"
        },
        "tokenDetails": {
          "token": "ae1d0699-a5f3-4548-aaa8-068b57564118"
        },
        "transactionId": "c0b554b8-7819-11ee-acb0-7445f363cd81",
        "paymentId": "c0b554b8-7819-11ee-acb0-7445f363cd81",
        "systemTraceAuditNumber": "808040",
        "networkResponseDetails": {
          "processorResponseCode": "A0000",
          "networkResponseCode": "00"
        },
        "avsResponseDetails": {
          "networkCode": null
        },
        "errors": null
      }
    }
  }
}