Visa Travel Notification Service helps you avoid mistaken purchase declines while your cardholders are traveling by incorporating cardholder self-reported travel plans into the VisaNet authorization message. With Visa Travel Notification Service, Visa informs you whether your cardholder is transacting during the travel dates and at the travel destination they reported, helping you more confidently approve transactions when your cardholders make purchases while travelling.
The first step in getting started with Visa Travel Notification Service is to understand the general flow, the role of the API, and the role the Visa Travel Authorization Tag plays.
Visa Travel Notification Service: How It Works
When cardholders inform you of their travel plans, you send those travel details to Visa using the Visa Travel Notification API. Visa then stores the travel itinerary for use when your cardholder starts the trip. When your cardholder transacts, Visa analyzes whether the transaction is located near the travel destination and falls within the travel dates reported by your cardholder. Based on this analysis, Visa populates the Visa Travel Authorization Tag in the authorization message and updates the Visa Advanced Authorization score so you can use these in your decision to approve or decline the transaction. Note: The Visa Advanced Authorization score is only impacted by Visa Travel Notification Service if you are an issuer in the United States or Canada.
It is up to you to determine how cardholders inform you of their travel plans and how they can tell you when those plans change. Visa recommends you include a form in your mobile app and online banking website where cardholders can easily enter their travel destination and travel dates. When your cardholders enter a travel plan, you send those details to the Visa Travel Notification API. If your cardholders call your customer service center to tell you their travel plans, your customer service system backend can send the information to the Visa Travel Notification API.
Refer to the figures below that provide sample screens for a cardholder to report their travel plans to you in your mobile app.
Visa Travel Notification Service delivers value by providing Visa card issuers, the Visa Travel Authorization Tag in the VisaNet authorization message. The Visa Travel Notification API can be used by any developer in the sandbox, however, since the Visa Travel Authorization Tag is delivered to issuers in the VisaNet authorization message, only Visa issuers can sign up for Visa Travel Notification Service and use the API in production. The Visa Developer sandbox environment currently does not have VisaNet connectivity, so you cannot validate the receipt of an authorization message with the Visa Travel Authorization Tag in the sandbox.
You are responsible for collecting travel plans from your cardholders, including building and managing any mobile app screens or web pages where cardholder can inform you of their travel plans. Once a cardholder has informed you of their plans, you send the applicable information to the Visa Travel Notification API.
You can also use the Visa Travel Notification API to retrieve travel itineraries that you had previously submitted to the Visa Travel Notification API. However, you must follow these rules when using the Retreive operation of the Visa Travel Notification API:
See the API Reference link for details on the API.
Information for Issuers in the United States and Canada
If you are an issuer in the United States or Canada, the Visa Travel Authorization Tag is also an input to Visa Advanced Authorization scoring. You should refer to the Visa Travel Notification Service Description for more information on scenarios when Visa populates the Visa Travel Authorization Tag in the authorization message outside of the Visa Travel Notification Service.
To request a copy of Visa Travel Notification Service Description, contact [email protected] or your Visa representative.
The following table lists the regional availability for Visa Travel Notification Service. To view availability of all products, refer to the Availability Matrix.
| North America | Asia-Pacific | Europe | CEMEA | LAC | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardholder Disclosure Requirements
You must implement Visa Travel Notification Service in accordance with applicable law and are responsible for gathering necessary authorization and consent from your cardholders to share travel itinerary information with Visa.
Activation Requirements
You must sign up for the service with Visa by signing a Fraud Risk Products Agreement, indicating Visa Travel Notification Service as the service for participation. After signing an agreement, Visa will assign you an Implementation Manager who will be your main point of contact at Visa during implementation. They will provide you with a project plan for implementing Visa Travel Notification Service.
For a full list of activation requirements, refer to the Visa Travel Notification Service Description. For a copy of the Visa Travel Notification Service Description or Fraud Risk Products Agreement, contact [email protected].
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