Account Status Inquiry (ASI)

ASI is a message type that allows the merchant to check the Card Validation Code (CVC) and, if address details are provided, to optionally use the Address Verification Service (AVS).

If the ASI checks are successful, Thredd responds with an 00 approval to the merchant. They normally then submit a second transaction, but with an actual transaction amount included. For more information on application of card fees for ASI transaction declines, see the Fees Guide. An ASI can be extended to use Debit and Credit ASIs as described as follows.

ASI checks indicate the card’s eligibility on the transaction of a particular amount. However, the checks do not guarantee that the subsequent approval of the authorisation. This is because other transactions occurring between the ASI and the actual authorisation could affect the outcome. For example, a transaction can be approved for 200. However, the actual authorisation amount might be for 50 if 150 is no longer in the balance from other transactions.

Debit and Credit ASIs

Thredd uses Debit and Credit ASIs to check if an amount on a cardholder's account can be debited, or that the amount can be credited. These ASIs include a real-time message designed to verify a card’s status and eligibility without impacting cardholder funds. This information is provided before initiating a credit or debit transaction. Credit ASI messages are for Mastercard only, while messages from Visa are for Debit ASIs only. This feature is geared to opening opportunities for realtime money transfers.

Credit and Debit ASIs are available in all operating modes. For EHI Mode 4 (Gateway Processing with STIP), the transaction can be approved or cancelled for the Future Amount when the host is available. The transaction can also be approved or declined when the host is unavailable based on the STIP.

How Debit and Credit ASIs Work

The Thredd Platform delivers the following behaviour for Debit and Credit ASIs:

  • For a Debit ASI, Thredd uses limit checks to ensure that the amount supplied by Visa can be debited without it being blocked. Thredd also maps a legitimate debit transaction of Processing Code 00 to Processing Code 39, which you can track in EHI. The amount in a Debit ASI is optional. For more details refer to Processing Code 39
  • For a Credit ASI, Thredd finds out if the account is open and the particular transaction type is allowed. Thredd also checks if the amount can be loaded to the account without exceeding limits on the maximum balance. Thredd converts the Processing Code from 28 to 89. For more details, refer to Processing Code 89
  • For both a Credit and Debit ASI, the message provides Thredd with a Future Amount for validating the limits.

  • When Thredd receives an ASI request from Mastercard or Visa, it validates:

    • The card’s status (e.g., Active, Blocked, or Expired)

    • The respective card Usage Group

    • Card credentials such as CVV and expiry date

About the Future Amount

Thredd passes the Future Amount value to you through the Transaction Amount and Bill Amount fields in your External Host Interface ASI message. This allows Thredd to validate the amounts before approving or declining the ASI request. If the Future Amount value is either zero or empty, the transaction amount and bill amount values in the corresponding EHI message is equal to zero.

Summary of Items to Check

You should ensure that you check the Proc_Code, the Bill_Amount, and the Transaction_Amount fields.

The following shows the location of the fields in the structure of an ASI message.

Field

Value

Proc_Code

39 or 89

Bill_Amt

Future Amount

Transaction_Amount

Future Amount

auth_type

V

POS_Data_DE61 subfield 7 (POS Transaction Status)

8

Additional_Data_DE48 subelement 82 (Address Verification Service Request)

52

Additional_Data_DE48 subelement 92 (CVC 2 Value)

CVC 2 value