Ecommpay Partial Approval turns declines into payments

Merchants can collect lower top-up amounts without declined payments forcing customers to start again

To help merchants reduce declined card payments and collect more customer payment top ups, inclusive global payments platform, Ecommpay, has introduced Partial Approval. The card-scheme capability allows the issuing bank to approve a payment for less than the requested amount, instead of declining it when funds are insufficient. Payments that would previously fail can now complete at the approved amount.

“Not every declined payment has to be a lost one,” said Max Ryzhov, Chief Product Officer, Ecommpay. “When a customer's card doesn't have enough funds to cover the full amount they want to top up, Partial Approval allows the merchant to collect an amount the customer is able to pay. The customer is therefore able to complete a payment without starting over and inputting a lower amount. This reduces friction and the risk of drop-offs.”

For merchants whose business model tolerates a partial collection, such as payment collection top-ups and subscription billing, Partial Approval is enabled per payment via a single flag and merchants choose exactly which payment attempt it applies to. There is no need to change the merchant checkout architecture or alter the existing payment flow or endpoint. The parameter is sent with each payment request, merchants can enable partial collection exactly where their business model supports it, and leave it off everywhere else, without maintaining separate integrations.

The customer is kept informed through a branded warning label on the card entry screen, with an information pop-up explaining partial authorisation, and a dedicated final screen showing the requested and approved amount. Every screen is delivered by the Hosted Payment Page, with full merchant branding for a seamless and trusted payment experience.

Max Ryzhov continued: “Without Partial Approval, a transaction is treated as a decline in the standard flow when the issuer can only cover part of the requested amount. A declined payment is lost volume, lost activity and potentially a lost customer. Partial Approval ensures a payment is successful and an account is topped up, reducing the risk of lost revenue. The customer has the option to top up the difference later, when the additional funds are available, or using a different payment method. This reduces friction and frustration and allows the customer to continue their subscription, in-game purchase or other activity , uninterrupted.”