BASE II Clearing Services

Effective: 15 April 2023

Visa Supplemental Requirements

© 2001-2023 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

Visa Confidential
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Contents
Chapter 1 • BASE II Clearing Services Overview
BASE II Clearing System Enrollment Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

BASE II Clearing System Testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

BASE II Clearing System Interactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Clearing Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

BASE II Clearing System and VisaNet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Clearing Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Chapter 2 • BASE II Clearing System Interactions

BASE II Clearing System Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

BASE II Transaction Reconciliation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

BASE II Interchange Transaction File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

VisaNet Interchange Centers (VIC). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

BASE II Interchange Transaction File Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

VSS Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

VSS Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

BASE II Visa Treasury Management Department. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Clearing Settlement Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

BASE II National Net Settlement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Clearing Settlement Window Closures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

BASE II Issuer Transaction Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Chapter 3 • BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Edit Package Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Edit Package Data Extracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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Edit Package Run Control Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Edit Package Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Edit Package Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

PC Edit Package for Windows Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Edit Package Data Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Edit Package File Transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

PC Edit Package Application Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

PC Edit Package Batch Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Edit Package Process Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Edit Package Outgoing Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Edit Package Incoming Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

VIC Outgoing Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

VIC Incoming Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Edit Package Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

PC Edit Package Supported Windows Operating Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Processing Center Certification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Certification Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Edit Package Service Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Chapter 4 • BASE II Endpoint Alternative Transaction File Processing Option

Chapter 5 • BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

BASE II File Collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

BASE II Standard File Collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

BASE II Split Collect File Collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

BASE II File Delivery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

BASE II File Delivery Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

BASE II Customized File Delivery Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

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BASE II Customized File Delivery Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

BASE II Split Routing Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

BASE II Split Routing Process Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

BASE II Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

BASE II Consolidated File Delivery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 6 • BASE II Collection-Only Service

BASE II Collection-Only Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

BASE II Collection-Only Eligibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Chapter 7 • BASE II Clearing-Only Service

BASE II Clearing-Only Service Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

BASE II Clearing-Only Service Eligibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Chapter 8 • BASE II Currency Conversion Service

BASE II Currency Conversion Service Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

BASE II Currency Conversion Service Functions Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

BASE II Currency Conversion Service Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

BASE II Currency Conversion OIF Calculation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

BASE II Currency Rate Delivery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

BASE II Currency Rate Calculation Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

BASE II Currency Conversion Process Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Currency Rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

BASE II Buy and Sell Currency Rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

BASE II Exchange Direction Classifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

BASE II USD-Based Rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

BASE II USD-Based Rate Processing Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

BASE II USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

BASE II USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

BASE II USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

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BASE II USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

BASE II Non-USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

BASE II Non-USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #1. . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

BASE II Non-USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #2. . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

BASE II Currency Conversion Rate Update Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Chapter 9 • VisaNet Settlement Service

VSS Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

VSS Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

VSS Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

VSS Settlement Timing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

VSS Funds Transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

VSS Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

VSS Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

VSS Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

VSS Testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

VSS Implementations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

VSS Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Chapter 10 • VisaNet Copy Request & Fulfillment Service

VCRFS Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

VCRFS-Issuers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

VCRFS-Acquirers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

VCRFS Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

VCRFS Issuer Perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

VCRFS Acquirer Perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

VCRFS Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

VCRFS Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

VCRFS Delivery Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

VCRFS-VROL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

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VCRFS-VisaNet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

VCRFS Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

VCRFS Fees and Charges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

VCRFS Fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

VCRFS Charges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Chapter 11 • Visa Resolve Online Service

VROL Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

VROL Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

VROL Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

VROL Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

VROL Client Testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Chapter 12 • Custom Payment Service/ATM

CPS Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

CPS Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

CPS/ATM-Qualified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Non-Participation in CPS Liability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

CPS Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

CPS Process Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

CPS Clearing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

CPS Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

CPS/ATM Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Chapter 13 • Custom Payment Service/POS

CPS/POS Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

CPS/POS Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

CPS/POS National Market Program: Brazil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

CPS/POS Qualifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

CPS/POS to Non-CPS/POS Reclassification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

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CPS/POS Fee Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

CPS/POS Ineligible Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

CPS/POS Amount Tolerance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

CPS/POS Program Clearing Times. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

CPS Qualification Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

CPS Chargeback Reduction Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

CPS Authorization-Related Chargeback Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

CRS Life-Cycle Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

CPS/POS Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

CPS/POS Process Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

CPS/POS Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

CPS/POS Data Element Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

CPS/POS Validation Code Protected Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

CPS/POS Key Data Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

CPS/POS Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Chapter 14 • Chargeback Reduction Service

CRS Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

CRS Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

CRS Status Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

CRS Sales Draft Validation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

CRS Chargeback Validation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

CRS Edit Package Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

CRS VIC Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

CRS Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Chapter 15 • Fraud Reporting System

FRS Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

FRS Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Report New Fraud Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

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FRS Notification Code Assignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

FRS Account Sequence Number Assignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

FRS Fraud Investigation Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

FRS Reporting Timeframes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

FRS Transaction Edits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

FRS Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

FRS Process Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

FRS Message Flows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

FRS Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

FRS Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Chapter 16 • Issuers' Clearinghouse Service

ICS Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

ICS Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

ICS Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

ICS Database Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

ICS Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

ICS Process Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

ICS Issuer Transaction File Verification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

ICS Invalid Responses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

ICS Edit Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126

ICS Data Comparison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

ICS Data Counts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

ICS Outputs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

ICS Solicited Alerts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

ICS Unsolicited Alerts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Using ICS Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

ICS Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

ICS Legal Responsibilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

ICS Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

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Chapter 17 • Cross-Border Acquiring Service

BASE II Cross-Border Acquiring Service Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Chapter 18 • Cross-Border Issuing Service

BASE II Cross-Border Issuing Service Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

BASE II Cross-Border Issuing Service Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

BASE II Cross-Border Card Issuing Bank Partnerships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

BASE II Direct Cross-Border Card lssuing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

BASE II Cross-Border Issuing Service Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

BASE II Cross-Border Issuing Service Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Chapter 19 • VisaNet Certification Management Service

BASE II VCMS Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

BASE II VCMS Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

BASE II VCMS and Production Differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

BASE II VCMS Testing Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

BASE II VCMS Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Chapter 20 • BASE II Clearing System Restrictions

BASE II Clearing System Restrictions Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

BASE II Clearing System Restrictions Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

BASE II Clearing System Restrictions Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

BASE II Clearing System Restrictions Service and Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

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Chapter 1
BASE II Clearing Services Overview

BASE II Clearing System uses client-provided information and processing parameters to provide
transaction clearing services for clients.
Clients provide information using:
l Client Processing Selections—Clients provide data, optional selections, and processing limits
to BASE II Clearing to enable BASE II to provide client-selected services.
l Message Content—Many data elements of the BASE II record provide the client's preferences
for the processing of that record. For example: merchant information in a BASE II record
affords the processing of merchant services in addition to basic clearing services.

BASE II Clearing System Enrollment

Process
BASE II Clearing System uses an enrollment process to provide services to clients.
Most of the services provided by BASE II Clearing System are available to all BASE II clients. Other
services are optional.

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BASE II Clearing Services Overview

To participate in services provided by BASE II Clearing System, clients can contact their Visa
representatives, who coordinate service participation. Enrollment processes differ for each region.
Visa representatives can explain the regional requirements and enrollment specifics.

BASE II Clearing System Testing

BASE II Clearing System allows clients to test their changes in the VisaNet Certification Management
Service (VCMS) environment.
Testing is a process in which clients use specially designed test cases to verify the integrity of their
VisaNet-connected systems. The test cases are specific for each Visa service. Clients perform testing
using the Client Testing System environment that simulates (as closely as possible) the production
environment.
Clients can use VCMS to verify the BASE II service requirements and to test the processing of
transactions through VisaNet.
VCMS:
l Improves client readiness for transaction processing.
l Facilitates implementation of new services for clients.
l Provides end-to-end testing and transaction lifecycle testing for Custom Payment Service
(CPS)/ATM and Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS.
l Reduces the risk of incorrect processing in authorization and clearing production systems
both for Visa and for the client.
Clients should refer to the VisaNet Testing Guide for more information on VisaNet Testing processes
and best practices involved with testing their systems with VCMS VIP and BASE II.

BASE II Clearing System Interactions

BASE II Clearing System is the international electronic clearing system that supports transaction-
based payment exchange between Visa clients. BASE II Clearing supports all cards (Visa, Mastercard,
American Express, etc.) and several non-card payment services.

Clearing Overview
Clearing is the process by which Visa collects data about a transaction from the source, validates the
information and values, calculates fees and charges as appropriate, and then delivers it to the

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing Services Overview

destination. The receiving institution uses information to post accounts and reconcile activity and
settlement.
Authorization is the process by which an issuer approves or declines a cardholder’s transaction
before a purchase is finalized or cash is disbursed.
Settlement is the process of calculating and determining the net financial position of each client for
all transactions that are cleared.
This manual describes BASE II processing and clearing and settlement of client transactions.

BASE II Clearing System and VisaNet

The VisaNet Clearing System is referred to as BASE II. VisaNet is the processing platform that
connects Visa and its worldwide client banks and financial institutions so that they can authorize and
settle electronic payments quickly and securely. VisaNet is comprised of the VisaNet Integrated
Payment (V.I.P.) System, BASE II Clearing, Visa communications network, VisaNet Settlement Service
(VSS), and ancillary services such as Fraud Reporting Service (FRS), merchant services, VisaOnline
(VOL), Visa Resolve Online (VROL), and VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS).
VisaNet supports a wide variety of transactions, including purchase, cash, push payments, and bill
payment transactions made with any card; cardholder transfer transactions; recurring payment
transactions; and ATM transactions for other networks.
Visa supports this variety of transactions with unique clearing rules based on brand, network,
product, and jurisdiction.
VisaNet runs on a Central Processing Day (CPD) based upon GMT.

Clearing Benefits
BASE II Clearing is one of Visa’s core processing functions—it provides guaranteed settlement
between clients, timely information for cardholder posting, and merchant settlement.

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Chapter 2
BASE II Clearing System
Interactions

BASE II Clearing System Workflow

BASE II Clearing System receives and processes interchange files from clients at intervals specified by
the clients and provides the settlement information at the appropriate time to receiving institutions,
clients, and processors.
The workflow between merchants, clients, and Visa can be summarized as follows:
l Merchant—Transmits the electronic sales drafts to their acquiring institution or processor.
l Acquiring Institution or Processor—Edits, formats, and sends the merchant’s transactions
electronically as interchange files to a VisaNet Data Center.

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l VisaNet Interchange Center—Clears the acquiring institution or processor's interchange

files by:
n Collecting, editing, and validating the interchange files, transaction by transaction.
n Performing any necessary currency conversion.
n Calculating interchange fees and Visa’s daily transaction charges.
n Creating settlement records for VisaNet Settlement Service, (VSS).
n Creating and routing delivery interchange files to the appropriate issuing institutions
and processors
l Issuing Institution or Processor—Reviews the clearing transactions, and, if appropriate,
removes the hold from the cardholder’s funds and posts the amount of the transaction to the
cardholder’s account.

BASE II Clearing Workflow

Cardholder Merchant Acquirer BASE II Issuer

System
Sales Interchange Interchange
Draft Files Files

Reconciliation VSS Reconciliation

Reports Reports

Funds
Transfer
Instructions

BASE II Transaction Reconciliation

At a client option, Visa can provide transaction-level reconciliation through Clearing and Settlement
Advices. These advices are created, one advice per transaction.

BASE II Interchange Transaction File

The acquirer or its processor converts the merchant's transaction data into Visa's format. Some
clients and processors run the data through Visa’s Edit Package application while others have created

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Interactions

their own editing applications. The edit application rejects items that are not suitable for collecting
into BASE II.

BASE II Interchange Flow

Acquirer Processing Center

Client Pre-Edit Outgoing Edit

Program Package Run

Outgoing
Outgoing Center Interchange
Transaction File Transaction File

Merchant Rejected Items

Reimbursement Report

VisaNet Interchange Centers (VIC)

Throughout the day, VisaNet Interchange Centers (VIC) collect and receive interchange files
containing transactions from a number of types of connections:
l VisaNet Access Point (VAP)—The Application Platform Facility (APF) dials out to the client/
processor’s access point and collects the files per daily schedule as specified by the client.
l Extended Access Server (EAS)—Extended Access performs similarly to VAP but includes
more advanced security functionality.
l Visa Direct Exchange (DEX) network—The client/processor initiates the exchange, sending
the files to Visa.
l VisaNet Integrated Payment (V.I.P.) System—generates a record for full financial
transactions to the clearing and settlement system.
Collection can be done at any time specified by the client. BASE II polls the clients/processors to see
if they have anything to collect at the specified time.

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BASE II Clearing System Interactions

BASE II Outgoing Interchange from Acquirer

Acquirer Visa

VAP or Host Outgoing BASE II

Interchange
Transaction File

BASE II Interchange Transaction File Processing

BASE II Clearing System receives the Interchange Transaction File and processes the transactions.
When an interchange file reaches BASE II, the records are stripped out independently and processed
through the system, by transaction, not by file or batch. Each transaction passes through the clearing
system in a matter of milliseconds.
l Validates Source—BASE II ensures that it recognizes the parties to the transaction and
determines that they have the right to submit interchange.
l Determines Jurisdiction—BASE II determines where the transaction took place (domestic,
regional, interregional) to establish what rules the transaction falls under and what fees are
appropriate.
l Edits the Transaction—The data is validated to ensure its integrity (for example, is the card
number correct, is the country code valid, etc.)
l Determines Settlement Service—The clearing system determines the settlement service to
use (international and national, area, and product settlement services), the currency used,
and the timing of the settlement. Clients can request a particular settlement service, or allow
the system to choose the most appropriate settlement service.
l Values the Transaction including Currency Conversion—The system converts the
transaction amount into the possible currencies involved in the transaction and settlement.
l Calculates the Transaction's Fees and Charges—Interchange fees are what one client pays
another: for purchase transactions, the acquirer pays the issuer, and for ATM/Cash
transactions, the issuer pays the acquirer. Interchange fees vary by jurisdiction based on
regulations, product, settlement service, network, timeliness of clearing, etc. Daily transaction
charges are calculated by Clearing.

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BASE II Clearing System Interactions

VSS Transactions
BASE II Clearing System provides the information that VisaNet Settlement System (VSS) needs for
settlement.
BASE II produces these records in the process of clearing a transaction:
l Settlement records for VSS.
l SMS reporting records for transactions that involve a full-service client.

VSS Processing
Visa Settlement System (VSS) uses the individual settlement records to calculate one net position for
each funds transfer endpoint in the currency the endpoint has requested.
For example, Globalbank has two endpoints with different currency requirements: Globalbank Europe
wants its position in euros, while Globalbank US wants its position in dollars.
VSS produces:
l Reconciliation reports for the issuer and acquirer, summarizing the activity underlying the net
settlement amounts.
Note:
Reconciliation reports are also sent to “processing” institutions, which some issuers and
acquirers designate to handle settlement for them.

BASE II Visa Treasury Management Department

The Visa Treasury Management Department uses the net position amounts to settle funds for the
international settlement service with clients.
Treasury sends funds wire instructions to:
l Visa settlement banks—Banks receive settlement wires with funds transfer instructions.
l Clients that owe money for transactions—Clients receive requests for funds.
l Clients that are owed money—Clients are informed how much they are owed.

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BASE II Clearing System Interactions

Visa Treasury Wires Transfer Instruction to Settlement Banks

Visa
Settlement
Bank
Wire Transfer
Instructions

Visa Treasury
Operations

Visa
Settlement
Bank

Note: Visa supports additional settlement banks depending on the settlement service and
financial arrangements
The Visa settlement bank initiates and administers the actual collection of the owed funds:
1. The Visa settlement bank sends the client that owes the money (typically the issuer) a wire,
instructing them to pay the net settlement amount:
l US clients receive their initial instructions via a Federal Reserve wire.
l Clients outside the US receive a Global wire (aka Swift).
2. The client requests that their settlement bank transfer the amount specified by the wire to
Visa’s settlement account.
3. Visa’s Treasury Management Department instructs the settlement banks to pay out the
settlement amounts to the clients that are owed money.
Throughout the day, Visa Treasury performs reconciliation and matching the funds requested to the
payments. VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) posts regional fees and charges to the appropriate

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BASE II Clearing System Interactions

General Ledger accounts. When wire instructions are sent out, the "value date" on the wire is the date
the client is supposed to pay (1 day for countries that settle using the US dollar, 2 days for countries
that settle using other currencies). When a client does not pay on time, Visa will assess late payment
fees.

Clearing Settlement Windows

Visa settles with clients per settlement service. Each settlement service has one or more specified
times when settlement occurs, referred to as a settlement window. Visa also offers intra-day
settlement services for specific conditions.
International Settlement is initiated daily at approximately 03:00 a.m. Pacific time (PT) (10:00 GMT
April through October; 11:00 GMT October through April). All client files that have not completed
transmission at the time the International Settlement window initiates at approximately 03:00 a.m. PT
will be partially processed for inclusion in settlement that day, with the remainder of the file being
processed for inclusion in settlement the following calendar day. Clients of other settlement services
can designate the time at which these settlement services should close prior to international
settlement.

BASE II National Net Settlement

Client banks may opt to participate in National Net Settlement Services (NNSS). VisaNet Settlement
Service (VSS) determines their positions and transmits their settlement information at the time they
have specified through their settlement agent. Each NNSS/Area Net Settlement Service (ANSS),
therefore, has a settlement window time.

Related Information:
Clearing Settlement Window Closures

Clearing Settlement Window Closures

This table contains the settlement window in which each settlement service participates, listed by
settlement service.

Settlement Window Closures

Settlement Service ID Settlement Service Name Time of Closure (GMT)

1
1 INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT 10:00/11:00
2
3 SPECIAL SERVICE 3 07:00/08:00
2
4 SPECIAL SERVICE 4 06:00/07:00
2
5 SPECIAL SERVICE 5 06:00/07:00

10 AUSTRALIA NATIONAL NET 15:00

1
11 BARBADOS NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
12 BAHAMAS NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

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Settlement Window Closures

Settlement Service ID Settlement Service Name Time of Closure (GMT)

1
13 BOLIVIA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
3 1
14 BRAZIL NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
15 CANADA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
16 COSTA RICA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
17 CZECH REP NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
18 DOMINICAN R NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
19 ECUADOR NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
2
20 U.K. NATIONAL NET 06:00/07:00
3 1
21 GREECE NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
22 GUATEMALA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
23 HUNGARY NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
24 INDONESIA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

25 INDIA AREA NET 03:30

1
26 JAMAICA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

27 JAPAN NATIONAL NET 02:00

3
28 SOUTH KOREA NATIONAL NET 02:00
3 1
29 MEXICO NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
30 MALAYSIA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

31 NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL NET 02:00

1
32 PERU NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
33 PARAGUAY NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
34 SAUDI AR NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
2
35 SWEDEN NATIONAL NET 07:00/08:00
1
36 THAILAND NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
37 TRINIDAD NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
38 VENEZUELA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

39 UAE NATIONAL NET 02:00

1
40 OECS AREA NET 10:00/11:00

41 KENYA NATIONAL NET 02:00

1
42 MAURITIUS NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
43 SEYCHELLES NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

44 HONG KONG NATIONAL NET 21:00

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BASE II Clearing System Interactions

Settlement Window Closures

Settlement Service ID Settlement Service Name Time of Closure (GMT)

45 SINGAPORE NATIONAL NET 23:00
1
46 ROMANIA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

49 RUSSIA NATIONAL NET 03:30

50 EGYPT NATIONAL NET 03:30

1
51 SRI LANKA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
52 POLAND NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
53 HONG KONG AND CHINA 10:00/11:00
3
MAINLAND MNSS
2
54 COLOMBIA NNSS 06:00/07:00
1
55 EL SALVADOR NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
56 HONDURAS NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

57 PAKISTAN NNSS 03:30

1
58 CHILE NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
59 ZIMBABWE NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
64 PHILIPPINES NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
65 BELIZE NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00

67 KAZAKHSTAN NATIONAL NET 02:00

1
69 CROATIA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
70 NICARAGUA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
71 CAYMAN IS NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
1
72 MACEDONIA NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
4
73 BRAZIL CASH DISB NATL NET 06:00/08:00
3 1
74 MACAU NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
2
76 SERBIA NNSS 06:00/07:00
1
77 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA NNSS 10:00/11:00
3 1
78 BULGARIA NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
79 BOTSWANA NNSS 10:00/11:00
2
80 EURO AREA NET 06:00/07:00

81 UKRAINE NNSS 03:30

1
82 BELARUS NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
84 BANGLADESH NATIONAL NET 10:00/11:00
2
85 SOUTH AFRICA NNSS 06:00/07:00
2
86 GEORGIA NNSS 06:00/07:00

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BASE II Clearing System Interactions

Settlement Window Closures

Settlement Service ID Settlement Service Name Time of Closure (GMT)

1
87 ALBANIA NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
88 MOZAMBIQUE NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
89 GHANA NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
90 ZAMBIA NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
91 TANZANIA NNSS 10:00/11:00

92 NIGERIA NNSS 02:00

93 VIETNAM NATIONAL NET 02:00

1
94 UGANDA NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
95 UZBEKISTAN NNSS 10:00/11:00
3 1
102 ARMENIA NNSS 10:00/11:00
3 2
103 LEBANON USD NNSS 06:00/07:00
2
104 LEBANON LBP NNSS 06:00/07:00
3 1
106 MONTENEGRO NNSS 10:00/11:00

107 AZERBAIJAN NNSS 03:30

109 MOLDOVA NNSS 03:30

1
110 MALAWI NNSS 10:00/11:00

112 QATAR NNSS 02:00

1
116 KYRGYZSTAN NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
119 TAJIKISTAN NNSS 10:00/11:00
3
120 ANGOLA NNSS 03:30
3 2
122 TURKEY NNSS 06:00/07:00
1
124 BRAZIL REDECARD NNSS 10:00/11:00
4
125 BRAZIL CIP NNSS 06:00/08:00
1
126 RWANDA NNSS 10:00/11:00
3 1
127 BRAZIL CDP NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
128 GUYANA NNSS 10:00/11:00
3 2
129 MOROCCO NNSS 06:00/07:00

131 ICELANDIC NATIONAL NET 07:00

3 1
132 MYANMAR NNSS 10:00/11:00
1
133 HAITI NNSS 10:00/11:00
2
134 COLOMBIA VCSS NNSS 06:00/07:00
1
135 DUTCH CARIBBEAN ANSS 10:00/11:00

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BASE II Clearing System Interactions

Settlement Window Closures

Settlement Service ID Settlement Service Name Time of Closure (GMT)

136 NEPAL NNSS 03:30
1
137 ARGENTINA NNSS 10:00/11:00
3 2
138 CENTRAL AFRICAN AREANET 06:00/07:00

139 CAMBODIA NNSS 02:00

2
140 DENMARK NNSS 07:00/08:00

141 MALDIVES NNSS 02:00

3 1
142 ARUBA NNSS 10:00/11:00
2
143 NORWAY NNSS 07:00/08:00
3 1
144 URUGUAY UYU NNSS 10:00/11:00
3 1
145 URUGUAY USD NNSS 10:00/11:00

146 CAMBODIA (GOV) NNSS 02:00

147 PAPUA NEW GUINEA NNSS 19:00

3
148 JORDAN NNSS 03:30

1 Adjusts with Pacific daylight savings time.

2 Adjusts with Central Europe daylight savings time.
3 Inactive as of this publication's effective date.
4 Adjusts with Brazil daylight savings time.

Client files containing transactions for a given window that are not received by Visa at the time of
Settlement Window closure will not be processed until the next Central Processing Date (CPD).

BASE II Issuer Transaction Cycle

The issuer's incoming Interchange Transaction File (ITF) is fed through the Incoming Edit Package Run
from which clients can extract their own settlement reports. The incoming ITF, after editing, becomes
the incoming Center Transaction File (CTF), which is fed into the issuer's post-edit program, for the
posting of financial transactions to the cardholder account, as well as other non-financial information
such as fraud advices or Visa subscribed reports.

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BASE II Clearing System Interactions

Issuer Processing Flow

Issuer Processing Center

Incoming Edit Client Post- Cardholder

Package Run Edit Program Account

Incoming
Interchange Incoming Center
Transaction File Transaction File

Settlement Reports Visa Subscribed

Reports, Fraud
Advices

The issuer or its processor reviews the clearing batches, removes the hold from the cardholder’s
funds, and posts the amount of the transaction to the cardholder’s account.
At the end of each monthly billing cycle, the issuer prepares a statement for the cardholder, listing all
activity on the account during the billing period. When the cardholder pays his or her bill to the
issuer, the transaction cycle is complete.

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Chapter 3
BASE II Clearing System Edit
Package Service

BASE II Clearing System Edit Package

Overview
Clients use the Edit Package service to prepare interchange data files for the BASE II Clearing System.
Edit Package also receives and reports on incoming interchange from Visa, preparing it for the
processing center's Host system.

BASE II Clearing System Edit Package

Description
Edit Package is software supplied by Visa to endpoints worldwide. It is operated by processing
centers to prepare their interchange data files and to verify the integrity of the files sent to Visa.
Note: An endpoint is a client, merchant, or third-party processor connected to VisaNet.

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

The Edit Package is the interface between the endpoints’ internal payment processing systems and
the file transfer process used to interchange files with BASE II. The Edit Package software runs on
mainframe and Windows-based PC. Edit Package also receives and reports on incoming interchange
from Visa.

BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Benefits

The Edit Package Service offers several benefits.
l Improved system reliability—Increases the reliability of the interface between the
processing center and the BASE II Clearing System.
l Greater data integrity—Ensures the integrity of transactions and information submitted to
Visa.
l Improved processing accuracy—Pre-edits transactions before being sent to Visa. Invalid or
erroneous data is detected before sending the transactions to VisaNet.
l Enhanced operations—Provides reports and reconciliation of interchange activity, as well as
extracts of reports and tables.

Edit Package Features

Edit Package has several key features which provide maximum flexibility for both installation and
daily processing to all supported platforms.
Features include:
l Data extracts
l Run control options
l Error, audit, reconciliation and summary reports
l Utilities
PC Edit Package for Windows has additional features and components:
l Data Entry
l File Transfer
l Application Configuration
l Batch Facility

Edit Package Data Extracts

Edit Package data extracts provide access and extracts of Visa reference data such as: Routing Table,
Currency Rate, ARDEF, VID, etc.

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

Edit Package Run Control Options

Access to most functions in the Edit Package is available through run control options. The use of run
control options allows processing centers to customize the Edit Package in a way best suited to their
specific processing needs. Run control options can be modified at installation time or before each
Edit Package processing run.
Run control options offer a variety of functions, including:
l Setting tables' effective date to test future business enhancements.
l Establishing duplicate batch detection settings.
l Requesting automatic table and software updates to keep the Edit Package system current.
l Splitting incoming Interchange Transaction Files (ITFs) into multiple Center Transaction Files
(CTFs.)

Edit Package Reports

Edit Package reports information about various Edit Package processes.
l Outgoing Edit Package Reports—Provides the reconciliation and summary information
obtained from outgoing Edit Package processing. A report on system activity during
outgoing runs is also included.
Examples of outgoing reports are EP–100A through EP–199.
l Incoming Edit Package Reports—Provides the reconciliation and summary information
obtained from incoming Edit Package processing. A report on system activity during
incoming runs is also included.
Examples of incoming reports are EP–200A through EP–299.
l On-Request Reports—Clients can request the information stored in the Edit Package files:
n ACQ/ISS Identifier Table (can be referred to as the Visa Identifier (VID) Table)
n Account Range Table
n Value Tables
n Processing Log
Examples of on-request reports are EP–300 through EP–399.
l Optional Transaction-Based Reports—Contains displays of record data for specific
transactions.
Examples of transaction-based reports are EP–701 through EP–758.
See BASE II Edit Package (Release 4.0) Reports.

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

Edit Package Utilities

BASE II Clearing System uses several support utilities to assist clients during installation, application
configuration and system administration.
Utilities are used to initialize key files, generate default run control options, apply table updates, load,
recover and synchronize table-related files. They can also be used to extract information from Edit
Package value tables such as the Country, Currency, MCC, and ARDEF information as well as generate
on-request reports.

PC Edit Package for Windows Features

PC Edit Package for Windows includes a number of features that make information transfer reliable
and convenient.

Edit Package Data Entry

Clients can use Edit Package data entry to cut and paste transactions between batches, employ
default field values, and employ user-specific and BASE II CIB-specific data entry options.
l Allows the correction of Edit Package rejects and BASE II returns as well as entry of new
transactions.
l Specification File Updates, which are usually enhanced twice a year during each business
release, allows easy maintenance of Data Entry screens.
l Allows multiple users to do data entry for each BASE II CIB. Locking mechanisms ensure data
integrity and a LAN monitor window tracks user activity.
l Data Entry Date override feature allows users to test future Edit Package changes without
modifying the computer system date.

Edit Package File Transfer

Clients can use the Edit Package File Transfer Interface to exchange outgoing an dincoming ITFs with
VisaNet.

PC Edit Package Application Configuration

PC Edit Package combines the administrative functions into a user-friendly interface that offers a
number of options to customize the Edit Package.
The system includes user interface to define:
l Processors (CIBs)
l Operators
l Interfaces (VAP, EAS, or DEX)

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

l Batch Facility
l Data Entry

PC Edit Package Batch Facility

PC Edit Package includes a wizard to aid the set up of key processes such as Outgoing, Incoming, and
File transfer in batch mode.
The system also provides a *.bat command file that can be initiated through the Windows scheduler
or through client-customized procedures. It may also be submitted within the Batch Facility wizard.

Edit Package Process Flow

Outgoing and incoming processing is performed by Edit Package for all supported platforms. These
key processes perform specific functions for each run.
Edit Package provides software used by processing centers to process daily Visa transaction files on a
mainframe or PC. These Visa transaction files are communicated from a processing center’s internal
payment processing systems to the BASE II System via the VAP, EAS, or DEX.

Edit Package Outgoing Process

The outgoing Edit Package is a single-step process controlled by an overall program that calls many
sub-modules.
The outgoing control program, E3OUT, performs these functions:
l Calls initialization functions as needed at the beginning of each run which includes searching
and validating run control options, loading of internal tables, assigning run and starting batch
numbers.
l Processes each transaction found in the CTF by checking the optional file header, building
logical transactions, validating logical transactions using the rules and value tables, and
verifying all batch and file trailers balance.
l Performs any optional processing such as calculating hash totals if duplicate batch checking
via hashing is selected, and saving rejected transactions if center has selected SAVEREJECT
run control option.
l At the end of processing, if there were no severe errors, the control program produces the
necessary reports and makes the ITF available for staging on the VAP, EAS or DEX.

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BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

Edit Package Outgoing Interchange

Client
Pre-Edit
Processing

On-Us
Transactions

Transaction
Data

Center
Transaction
File

Edit Package Interchange

Transaction
File

To VisaNet Access
Point (VAP) for
Reports transmission to Visa

Edit Package Incoming Process

The incoming Edit Package is a single-step process controlled by an overall program that calls many
sub-modules.
The incoming control program, E3IN, performs these functions:
l Calls initialization functions as needed at the beginning of each run which includes searching
and validating run control options, loading internal tables and assigning a run number:
l Processes each transaction found in the ITF by checking the file header, building logical
transactions, validating the logical transactions using the rule and value tables, formatting
and extracting the transaction for reporting, validating the incoming file trailer and verifying
that batch and file trailers balance.

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

l Performs any optional processing based on run control options specified. Examples are
creating multiple CTFs and saving returned items to a separate file.
l During processing, Edit Package will update/create these files:
n Optional TC33
n Currency Conversion Rates File
n Control Tables
n History files
n Environmental Run Information
n Engine Table Usage Metric File
l At the end of successful processing, the control program produces the necessary reports and
makes the CTF available for use by the processing center.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 32

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

Edit Package Incoming Interchange

From Visa via VisaNet

Access Point (VAP)

Interchange
Transaction
File

Center
Edit Package Transaction
File

Reports Client Interchange

Post-Edit Data
Processing

Cardholder Billing

VIC Outgoing Process

The term outgoing refers to interchange sent from the client's processing center to the VisaNet
Interchange Center (VIC).
This graphic shows the flow of electronic data from the client's processing center to the VIC.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 33

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

Outgoing Interchange Process

Processing Transaction
Center Host Data
Computer

CTF

2 2
Correct rejected
transactions
3 Rejected Transactions and build CTF
PC Edit 3 CTF
Package
4 CTF

Correct returned
5 or 5 transactions from a
previous incoming run
ITF 5 DEX

VAP or VisaNet Interchange

EAS Server Center (VIC)

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 34

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

l The processing center’s pre-edit software formats the transaction data into a CTF.
l The client's computer transfers the CTF to Edit Package, which validates the information and
ensures that it is free of common errors.
l If a transaction has data errors, it fails Edit Package validation and is placed in a reject batch
on disk to be corrected.
n PC Edit Package for Windows
After correcting each transaction, build a CTF and re-send it through PC Edit Package for
Windows’s validation procedure.
n Mainframe Edit Package
Rejected item files created from the mainframe Edit Package processing can be
optionally downloaded into the PC Edit Package for Windows Data Entry for correction.
After correcting each transaction, build CTF, upload CTF to the mainframe and send it
through the mainframe Edit Package outgoing processing.
l Similarly, If there were any returned transactions from a previous incoming run, correct them
and include them in a CTF to go through the validation procedure.
l Once the transactions have been validated, Edit Package builds an ITF. PC Edit Package for
Windows or Visa File transfer or client file transfer software sends the ITF electronically to a
VAP, EAS or DEX. The VAP, EAS or DEX transmits the ITF to the VIC.

VIC Incoming Process

The term incoming refers to interchange coming into the client's processing center from the VisaNet
Interchange Center (VIC).
This graphic illustrates the steps in an incoming interchange process.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 35

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

Incoming Interchange Process

VisaNet
Interchange
Center (VIC)

1 1

DEX

VAP or
EAS Server

2 or 2

ITF

4
Returned
Transactions

PC Edit
Package

or
3 3

CTF

Post Edit
Software

Processing
Center

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 36

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

l The VIC sends clearing transactions in ITF format to the VAP, EAS, or DEX.
l PC Edit Package for Windows or Visa File transfer or the processing center’s software
electronically transfers the ITF from VAP or EAS. For the DEX interface, PC Edit Package
retrieves the ITF from the DEX server for processing.
Edit Package validates the transactions and converts them to CTF format.
l The CTF is processed by the processing center’s post-edit software.
l Returned items are corrected using the PC Edit Package for Windows and validated during
Outgoing processing.

Edit Package Requirements

This includes system requirements for Edit Package and PC Edit Package for Windows.

PC Edit Package Supported Windows Operating Systems

For information about supported Windows operating systems for Edit Package, contact your Visa
representative.
See BASE II Clearing Edit Package Operations Guide Release 4 and BASE II Clearing PC Edit Package for
Windows User Guide Release 4 for more detail.

Processing Center Certification

All processing centers, regardless of platform, are required to follow BASE II Clearing System
certification procedures.
l New processing centers must be certified when installing Edit Package software for the first
time.
l Centers must be certified when installing a new Edit Package software version.

Certification Process
Certification is arranged through the processing center’s Visa representative. All necessary
information for certification and implementation is provided by Visa.
The certification process must include tests for:
l Processing center pre-edit software compatibility with the Edit Package
l Edit Package data exchange with BASE II
l Processing center post-edit software compatibility with Edit Package
Test data is created by the processing center, Visa, or both.

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II Clearing System Edit Package Service

Once certification procedures are executed, the processing center must verify test results. This
summarizes the Edit Package certification steps.
1. Determine if certification is required.
2. Certify the Edit Package.
a. Verify pre-edit software
b. Exchange data with BASE II
c. Verify post-edit software
d. Reinitialize the Edit Package

Edit Package Service Documentation

The following documentation is available:
l BASE II Clearing Edit Package Operations Guide Release 4
l BASE II Clearing Edit Package Messages Reference Guide Release 4
l BASE II Clearing Edit Package Reports Reference Guide Release 4
l BASE II Clearing PC Edit Package for Windows User Guide Release 4
l BASE II Clearing Edit Package Run Control Options Quick Reference Release 4

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 38

Chapter 4
BASE II Endpoint Alternative
Transaction File Processing Option

Visa offers this alternate file transaction processing option to endpoints that do not wish to use the
Visa Edit Package to build BASE II outgoing files and process BASE II incoming files.
Please refer to your Visa Representative for full details.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 39

Chapter 5
BASE II File Collection and Delivery
Services

BASE II Clearing System File Collection and Delivery Service uses client preferences to collect
outgoing interchange files and delivers the incoming interchange and reports to the destination.

BASE II File Collection and Delivery

Services Overview
BASE II Clearing System uses collection times to connect with a client's VisaNet Access Point (VAP) or
Visa Extended Access Server (EA Server). Other connection options for interchange (DEX, Direct
Connect, and internal Visa processors) do not require collection times.
BASE II automatically delivers files post-settlement; however, clients can choose among several
delivery options that allow for the scheduling of extra deliveries in addition to the end-of-cycle files.
These options provide faster access to files in a sequence that best meets a client's needs.
BASE II allows clients to choose how information is received, package critical data separately,
designate certain files for early or customized delivery, and route specific transactions to alternate
locations for faster processing.
File collection and delivery options are available to all clients and their processors in all Visa regions.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 40

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

BASE II File Collection and Delivery

Services Description
File Collection and Delivery Service collects and receives interchange files and delivers transactions
and information to processors.
BASE II supports file collection 24 by 7, 365 days a year. BASE II file delivery has many client delivery
options by volume, by time, or by event. Clients can specify the type of data they require in a specific
file for customized, split routing, and expedited file delivery. Split Routing determines who will
process the data, while Custom Delivery is how the data will be received. A collection option
supports multiple files to be staged in a given day.

BASE II File Collection

Throughout the day, Visa collects and receives interchange files containing transactions from these
sources:
l VisaNet Access Point (VAP)—The Application Platform Facility (APF) dials out to the client's or
processor’s VAP and collects the files per a daily schedule.
l Extended Access Server (EA Server)—The EA Server performs similarly to the VAP but
includes more advanced security functionality.
l Direct Exchange (also known as Visa Gateway)—Processors initiate the exchange, sending the
files to Visa.
Processors who have VAPs or EA Server connections can establish times when they want the system
to poll their files for processing. Processors who use DEX or Direct Connect can send their files to
Visa at any time.
There are two collection options: standard and split collect.

BASE II Standard File Collection

Visa collects files from clients’ VAPs or EA Servers based on the day and hour set in the processor’s
configuration.
Processors have the option of sending outgoing interchange, multiple times during the cycle.
Splitting transaction data into multiple files that are collected at different times enables processors to
better balance their workload, facilitate global processes, and speed settlement.
Processors that use Direct Exchange and Direct Connect internally control the day and times the files
are sent to Visa.

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 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

BASE II Split Collect File Collection

Split Collect (SC) allows a client to have a file collected from a source other than its usual processor.
For example, a client can have an alternate processor process its back-office transactions.
Split Collect is a file collection service.

Related Information:
BASE II File Delivery Options

BASE II File Delivery

Processors can choose to have their transaction data delivered before settlement is completed or to
have specific types of data delivered in advance of settlement.
Normally, transaction data and settlement reports are delivered simultaneously. However, a client can
choose to have data in advance, for example, in order to balance the workload, determine whether
any transactions were rejected in a file, or package data critical to a client's processing.
Clients can define how they want their files delivered based on time, day, volume, and event. In
addition, delivery can be initiated by request to Visa. Clients can also customize the delivery of BASE
II files based on a list of predefined file types. Some of those files can be expedited for immediate
delivery.
At the end of the processing cycle, Visa delivers any pending data at the close of the International
Settlement window, which is 03:00 PT (10 or 11 GMT, depending on U.S. daylight savings time).

BASE II File Delivery Options

BASE II provides clients with multiple customized options to receive their files.
These options enable clients to schedule file delivery at a preselected time or when the client's
interchange has reached a certain volume.
Clients can select any combination of these options. Normal processing occurs when the settlement
window for that service closes. Clients have options to receive files in a variety of ways.
l Time
Processors can receive their files according to a predetermined schedule that best meets their
needs and processing schedule. For example, a client can request that all data processed so
far be sent at 15:00, 17:00, etc.
l Volume
Clients can request the delivery of data based on the volume processed. For example, deliver
a file as soon as 1,000,000 transactions are completed.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 42

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

l Event
l Operations command
Visa allows processors to call with a request to deliver a file immediately. The VisaNet
operator will initiate delivery of available data. This does not override the delivery option for
that file—any delivery options established by the client will remain in effect.
Clients have a number of options to choose how the data in their files are presented and delivered
from BASE II. This allows clients to customize data to meet their own processing needs.

BASE II Customized File Delivery Description

Clients can facilitate their internal processing by requesting Visa to categorize data in custom files.
For example, a client receives all of their POS sales drafts in one file and has all ATM credit card
transactions separated from ATM debit card transactions. In addition to this type of customization,
clients can add customization of dispute transactions and have it routed to an alternate destination.
This streamlines client processes customized to client needs, improves delivery speed, and allows
clients to prioritize their processing.

BASE II Customized File Delivery Options

Customized File Delivery provides a number of delivery options.
l Expedited delivery—This option provides immediate delivery of selected customized delivery
files, regardless of the normal delivery schedule. Expedited delivery allows processors to
receive selected files immediately after a file is completed.

BASE II Split Routing Description

Split Routing enables BASE II processors to select alternate BASE II file delivery locations for certain
transaction types. Clients can use these routing options individually or in combination.
A VSS relationship is created based on the routing option for the processor to which they are routing.

BASE II Split Routing Process Flow

Split Routing codes can be set up from the Clearing Business or Account Range.
Where two split routing options have overlapping selection criteria, the routing option with the
higher priority is used to route the transactions qualifying for both options.
Example: Both options set at BASE II CIB level

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 43

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

The ATM Originated (AO) file type selects all ATM transactions—both issuer and acquirer, original
and back-office—and it has a selection sequence number. The ATM Back-Office (AB) split routing
code selects only back-office ATM transactions, but it has a higher selection sequence number than
the AO file types. Issuer Center 1 has been set with AO routing to Issuer Center 3 and AB routing to
Issuer Center 2.

Example Illustration

Issuer
POS Center 1

ATM AB

Acquirer Issuer
Clearing Center 2

ATM AO

Issuer
Center 3

BASE II Custom Delivery and Split Routing File

Types
BASE II Clearing processors may select customized delivery file types as needed to meet their
requirements (e.g., financial, fraud, and back-office). This table contains the file types used for
customized file delivery.
Note: BASE II uses consolidated file delivery to place all of the data that is undifferenctiated
(data left over after customization) from the VisaNet Interchange Centers (VICs) in a single
logical file with a file type code of IC.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 44

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)
ACKNOWL­ MA Retired.
EDGEMENT
AK

Acquirer ASRA AS Yes Yes No Acquirer services reporting

Services
Reporting
Advices

Assessment AG Retired.
— Generic

ATM Back- ATMBO AB Yes No Yes Back-office ATM

Office transactions; dispute
financials, dispute response
financials, and their
reversals.

ATM Back- ATMBC BC Yes No Yes Back-office ATM

Office Credit transactions where the
credit account was selected.

ATM Back- ATMBD BD Yes No Yes Back-office ATM

Office Debit transactions where the
savings or checking
account was selected.

ATM Format ATMAF AF No No Yes Used for ATM Format

Conversion: Conversion Service.
ALL

ATM Format ATMFC FC No No Yes Used for ATM Format

Conversion: Conversion Service where
Credit credit account is selected.

ATM Format ATMFD FD No No Yes Used for ATM Format

Conversion: Conversion Service where
Debit debit account is selected.

ATM ATMOR AO Yes No Yes Original and back-office

Originated ATM transactions,
regardless of account type.

ATM ATMOC AC Yes No Yes Original and back-office

Originated ATM transactions where the
Credit credit account was selected.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 45

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)

ATM ATMOD AD Yes No Yes Original and back-office

Originated ATM transactions where the
Debit savings or checking
account was selected.

Back-Office BAKOF BK Yes No Yes All back-office transactions,

both POS and ATM.

BASE I B1ADV B1 Yes No No Bulk file delivery of authori­

Advices zation Stand-in Advices

BASE II RTRN RT Yes Yes No Submitted transactions that

Returns failed clearing edits.

BASE I TC33 B1T33 BA Yes Yes No Specialized authorization

Report reporting, such as special
airline data.

CAPTURE MC Retired.

CAST33 T33NN D1 Yes Yes Yes Clearing and Settlement

NN/AN ADV TC33 Advice – Allows
Clearing and Settlement
(CAS) TC33 advices for
NNSS and ANSS
transactions only to be sent
in a separate delivery file.
This will include
transactions settled in a
national or area net.
Transactions will be
combined if the same
settlement window applies
to both the national and
area net.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 46

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)
CAS TC33 T33IS D2 Yes Yes Yes Clearing and Settlement
ADV ISS TC33 Advice – Allows
Clearing and Settlement
(CAS) TC33 advices for
international transactions
only to be sent in a
separate delivery file. This
will include transactions
settled in the international
settlement service. This can
apply to domestic
transactions settled in
international settlement
service.

CDM CDMAQ CA No No Yes VDAS TC38 Flexible Routing

ACQUIRER options for Acquirers.

CDM ISSUER CDMIS CI No No Yes VDAS TC38 Flexible Routing

options for Issuers.

Chargeback CBREV CB Yes Yes Yes Used when an issuer wants

Reversals to send dispute financials
and their reversals and
receive dispute response
financials and their
reversals and receive
dispute financials.

Clearing CDC CD Yes Yes No Data capture advices.

Data
Capture

Clearing CAS33 CS Yes Yes Yes TC33 Clearing and

Settlelment Settlement Advice – Allows
Advice Clearing and Settlement
(CAS) TC33 Advices for ISS,
NNSS, and ANSS
transactions to be sent in a
separate delivery file.
This file will include
transactions settled in an
international and national
or area net settlement
service.

Combo Card COMBO CM No No Yes Reserved for Brazil.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 47

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)

Currency CURR CU Yes Yes No Daily (M-F) currency

Rates trading rates.

Debit Raw RW Yes Yes No Full Service detailed

Data transaction data in a
machine-readable format.

Debit DBRPT DR Yes Yes No SMS detail reports.

Reports

Delta DB UK Delta Service—Retired

Balance File

Detokeni­ TKEXA TA Yes Yes No Support new TC33 Token

zation Exchange Activity File to be
used to populate on-us
Clearing system data store.

DISP CM DCMSO MS No No Yes Reserved for Brazil.

SEND

DISP CM DCMSR MB No No Yes Reserved for Brazil.

SENDREC

Edit Package EA Retired.

ADP

Edit Package ET Retired.

ADT

Edit Package EM Retired.

MF

Edit Package EC Retired.

PC

Edit Package EPUPD EP Yes No No Daily Edit Package VID and

Updates ARDEF table changes
(TC54).

EP40 Code EP4CB ES Yes Yes No Edit Package version 4

Update software updates (PC or
Mainframe).
Separates EP 4.0 Code
update (software updates)
from endpoint's regular
daily incoming (UNDIF)
files.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 48

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)

Fee/Funds FEFUN FF Yes Yes Yes Used for issuers and

acquirers to send and
receive client-to-client Fee
Collections and Funds
Disbursements.

Financial FINAN FI Yes No No Any financial activity,

segregated from
nonfinancial transactions.

Fraud FRAUD FR Yes Yes No Fraud service data.

ICS ICSX IX Yes Yes No Expedited issuer clearing

Expedited house.

ICS Standard ICS IS Yes No No Issuer clearing house.

IRF Detail IRFDI II Yes Yes No Reserved for Japan.

Intl

IRF Detail IRFDN IN Yes Yes No Reserved for Japan.

NNSS

ISO SO Retired.
Formatted

Issuer Fee FS Retired.

Service
Report

Japan JNS JN Yes Yes Yes Japan NNSS reports.

National Net
reports

NARS NARS NX Yes Yes No National Application

Expedited Review Service expedited.

National Net NNSS NN Yes No Yes Allows clients within a

Settlement country to settle domestic
transactions through a local
settlement agent bank. The
service can be used for
transactions where the
merchant, acquirer, and
issuer are in the same
country.
The custom file type puts
all national net transactions
into a separate file.

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 49

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)

National NSRPT NS Yes Yes No National Net Settlement

Settlement reports.
Reports

NCRF Data NCRF NC Yes Yes Yes Europe CRB.

Nonfinancial NONFI NF Yes No No All nonfinancial data

segregated from financial
transactions.

Non- NONIC NI Yes No No Non-interchange Report

interchange File.

Original ORIG OD Yes No No Originals segregated from

Drafts exception items and
nonfinancial.

PFX CAS PFX33 PF Yes Yes Yes Alternate routing of the

Advice TC33 – PFX CAS Advice.

POS POSOR PO No No Yes POS original transactions;

Originals that is, original
presentments of clearing
drafts and reversals.

RC Adv Amt REHV2 R2 Yes Yes No Reclassification advices

Total reason code HV2.

Reclassify READV R1 Yes Yes No Reclassification advices.

Advices

Settlement SETLR SR Yes No No Settlement reports –

report machine-readable and
print-ready (TC46 and TC47
combined)

Settlement SETLM MR Yes No No Settlement reports –

Reports machine-readable (TC46)
(Machine-
Readable)

Settlement SETLP LR Yes No No Print ready settlement

Reports reports (TC47).
(Print)

SWEEPSTAKES SWSTK SW Yes No Yes Sweepstakes – TC10 and

TC20.

Sweepstakes SG Retired.
VML Format

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 50

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)
TRID TC33 TRRPT TR Yes Yes No Token Requestor ID (TRID)
Report TC33 Report.

UK Electronic UKNEG UN Yes Yes No UK electronic hot card file.

HCF

Universal UB Retired.
Biller File

VCR Claim VROLC VL No No Yes Split collection-only VCR

CO disputes.

VCR Claim DFT33 DF Yes Yes Yes Determine TC33 advice

Msg delivery for Dispute
Financial to VROL.

Visa Capture VCAPF VC Yes Yes No CyberSource Enhanced

File TC33 Capture File

Visa Rewards ASSMT AT Yes No Yes Visa Rewards fee

Assessment collections/funds
File disbursements with TCQ 1.
1
Car Rental CARNT CC No No Yes Level 3 commercial card
data.
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = CORPCA
1
Car Rental CRADE CE No No Yes Level 3 commercial card
data.
Car Rental (ADE).
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = CORPCD
1
Car Rental CRAD3 CT No No Yes Level 3 commercial card
data.
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = COMMCL

Car Rental – CRLID CL No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Line Item data.
1
Detail TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = CORPCL

Car Rental – CR3RD CN No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Line Item data.
Detail Third- TC50s with TCR0 Service
1
Party Identifier = COMMCL

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 51

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)
Electronic EBFIL EB No No Yes TC50
1
Bill Pres

Fleet FLEET FT No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

1
Service data.
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = COMFLT

General Use GNLID GL No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

– Line Item data.
1
Detail TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = COMMXL

Generic GENER GN No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

1
Data data.
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = COMMGN
1
Lodging LODGE LG No No Yes Level 3 commercial card
data.
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = CORPLG

Lodging LGADE LA No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

1
(ADE) data.
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = CORPLA

Lodging LGAD3 L3 No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

(ADE) Third- data.
1
Party TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = COMMLA

Lodging – LGLID LL No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Line Item data.
1
Detail TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = CORPLL

Lodging – LG3RD LT No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Line Item data.
Detail (Third- TC50s with TCR0 Service
1
Party) Identifier = COMMLL

Open OPNFM OF No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Format data.
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = OPNFMT

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 52

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom Delivery and Split Routing File Types

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)
Passenger PASID PI No No Yes Level 3 commercial card
Itinerary data.
1
Data TC50s with TC0 Service
Identifier = CORPAI

Passenger PASL3 P3 No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Itinerary data.
Data Leg TC50s with TCR0 Service
Pecific Identifier = COMMAS
(Third-
1
Party)

Passenger PASLS PL No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Itinerary data.
Data Leg TC50s with TCR0 Service
1
Specific Identifier = CORPAS

Passenger PASIG PG No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Itinerary data.
1
General TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = COMMAG

Purchase Txn PRCHA PA No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

1
ADE (TC50) data.
TC50s with TCR0 Service
Identifier = PURCHA

Purchasing GNADE GA No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Transaction data.
1
(ADE) TC50s with a TCR0 Service
Identifier = COMMXA

Purchasing PRCHL PD No No Yes Level 3 commercial card

Transaction – data.
Line Item TC50s with TCR0 Service
1
Detail Identifier = PURCHL

1 Enables clients and processors to specify different delivery endpoints for Commercial Card transactions so that they can be
delivered from the issuer to the acquirer or to a third party. The enhanced data is delivered directly to the selected issuing
endpoint instead of sending the data to the application processor (CIB) and then to the recipient

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 53

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Custom and Split Route File Types—Visa Use Only

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)
CRIS Reports CRIS CR Yes Yes No Visa use only.

RFC RFC RC Yes Yes Yes Visa use only.

RFC RFCAQ RA No No Yes Visa use only.

ACQUIRER

RFC ISSUER RFCIS RI No No Yes Visa use only.

VCMS VCMSR VR Yes No No Visa use only.

Responder

Other Platform Files

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)
CYB Capture CY Retired.
File

DUP TRANS DUPCA DC Yes Yes No Duplicate Transaction

RPTS Identification Detection and
Reporting Service (GDTID)
program reporting.

Generic GC GMRGC GC Yes Yes No TC50 BC file (EAS to APF).

File

Generic GD GMRGD GD Yes Yes No Generic GD file (APF to

File Global Merchant
Repository AMMF Server).

GMR TC50 GMRBC GM Yes Yes No TC50 BC file (EAS to APF).

BC File

GMR TC50 GMRBD RB Yes Yes No TC50 BD file (APF to Global

BD File Merchant Repository
AMMF Server).

International IFADV IF Yes Yes No Delivery of International

Fee Advice Transaction Fee changes
reports (ITFR).

Monthly NE Retired.
Enrollment
Detail

15 April 2023 Visa Confidential 54

 BASE II Clearing Services
BASE II File Collection and Delivery Services

Other Platform Files

File Type BASE II File Type Customized Expedite Split Route Business Description
Customized Code—Visa
Delivery Use Only
File Type
(ITF TC90)
Monthly ME Retired.
Enrollment
TC33

Rewards RE Retired.
Enrollment

Rewards RP Retired.
Points TC33

RDMS RDMS RD Yes No No Client reports from the

Report Distribution
Management System.

Risk Adj Fee FEE40 RF Yes Yes No FEE 400 and FEE 500 series
Rpt reports for Risk Adjusted
fees.

Token TKPRV TV Yes Yes No TC33 Token Provisioning

Report Results (ODF to EAS)

BASE II Consolidated File Delivery

BASE II uses consolidated file delivery to place all of the data that is undifferentiated (data left over
after customization) from all the VisaNet Interchange Centers (VICs) in a single logical file.
Clients can choose to consolidate data (collapse files into a single file). This option causes all data
that is undifferentiated (data left over after customization) from all the VisaNet Interchange Centers
(VICs) to be placed in a single logical file. Without this option, a client or processor may receive at
least one data file from each VIC and one settlement report file. Because the consolidation process
runs after the settlement event occurs, there is a delay for these clients—while the settlement event
is the trigger, the delivery is not immediate.
Clients utilizing a VAP or EA Server have the option of enabling consolidation from this service,
reducing delivery delays from VisaNet.

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Chapter 6
BASE II Collection-Only Service

All BASE II clients and processors are required to send all intraprocessor transactions to Visa for
reporting. Intraprocessor transactions are those transactions that involve two different clients
serviced by the same processing center.

BASE II Collection-Only Overview

In most cases, intraprocessor transactions are submitted to the BASE II System for clearing and
settlement; however, the processor may clear and settle the transaction and then send a collection-
only transaction to Visa.
Note:
All U.S. domestic transactions must be cleared and settled through Visa.
Collection-only transactions are identified by an entry of ‘C’ in the Collection-Only Flag of the
transaction message. These transactions have limited BASE II editing as follows:
l Entries for Source and Destination identifiers and for account number fields must be the
same as for non-collection-only transactions.
l The Source Currency Code must be spaces or a valid currency. If spaces are entered, the
Merchant Country Code must be valid.
l The Destination Amount must be zero.

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l The Destination Currency code must be spaces.

l The following fields must be numeric:
n Acquirer Reference Number
n Acquirer’s Business ID
n Purchase Date
n Merchant Category Code
n Reason Code
n Central Processing Date
n Settlement Flag
n Source Amount
Collection-only transactions can be combined with other interchange or can be submitted as a
separate file. BASE II does not calculate or assess BASE II processing charges or interchange
reimbursement fees for collection-only transactions. The transactions are shown as nonfinancial
transactions on Edit Package reports EP-110B, EP-110C, EP-110D, EP-221B, and EP-221D.

BASE II Collection-Only Eligibility

BASE II Collection-Only Service is available to all BASE II clients and processors.

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Chapter 7
BASE II Clearing-Only Service

BASE II Clearing-Only is a client-to-client transaction exchange using VisaNet clearing services for
data quality and reporting; the transactions are settled outside Visa.

BASE II Clearing-Only Service

Overview
Transactions settled outside of Visa are identified by an entry of 3 in the Settlement Flag of the
transaction message. These appear on the VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) reports as financial
transactions that are not settled and appear as a unique line on the VSS–120 and VSS–900 reports.

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BASE II Clearing-Only Service

BASE II Clearing-Only Service

Eligibility
This service is available only if an issuer card range is registered for the BASE II Clearing-Only Service.
Multicurrency transactions are not supported.
Sales drafts and reversals, ATM and cash and reversals, merchandise credit, and original credit are
valid message types for Clearing-Only. Dispute processing is not supported.

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Chapter 8
BASE II Currency Conversion
Service

The Currency Conversion Service provides clients the ability to clear transactions in any currency
recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Visa settlement currencies are
a subset of ISO 4217 and can be found in BASE II Data Codes.

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BASE II Currency Conversion Service

BASE II Currency Conversion Service

Overview
Currency Conversion Service includes these transaction currency processing functions.
l Clearing Conversion—This feature automatically converts the transaction currency to the
issuer destination currency for the cardholder. The transaction currency is generally the
currency in which a transaction takes place. The issuer destination currency for the cardholder
as provided to Visa. VisaNet supports virtually every currency recognized by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO).
l Settlement Conversion—This feature automatically converts the transaction currency to the
acquirer’s settlement currency (if the two are different), and to the issuer’s settlement
currency (if the two are different). Twenty-four settlement currencies are supported.
l Currency Rate Delivery—This feature provides clients (five days a week, Monday through
Friday) with the currency conversion rates Visa uses to process transactions.
Currency Conversion Service is mandatory for all issuers, acquirers, processors, and merchants in all
Visa regions.

BASE II Currency Conversion Service

Functions Overview
Visa uses buy and sell rates for currency conversion.
These rates are paired into:
l USD-based rates that are used when converting non-USD currencies against the U.S. dollar.
l Cross rates (non-USD-based rates) that are used for selected currencies for which the rates
quoted are against a currency other than the U.S. dollar

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BASE II Currency Conversion Service

Description
Visa uses buy and sell rates to process currency conversion.
These are the basic formulas that VisaNet uses for all transactions when converting currencies:
l When converting from the counter currency to the base currency, the formula is: Counter
currency x rate = Base currency
l When converting base currency to counter currency, the formula is: Base currency ÷ rate =
Counter currency
From these basic formulas, Visa has established sets of processing rules for each type of transaction
and has categorized them into exchange direction groupings:
l Buy—Sell
l Sell—Buy
VisaNet uses exchange direction processing rules for the rate pair type that is appropriate for the
transaction and for the type of conversion required when performing the currency conversion.
Currency Conversion Service Monetary Units
Currencies are defined as having zero, two, or three minor units of currency. For instance, the U.S.
dollar has two minor units of currency (the two positions to the right of the decimal point); the
Japanese yen has no minor units.
BASE II always assumes two minor units:
l If the transaction amount is 20492, it must be entered in the request as 2049200.
l If the transaction amount is 67.89, it must be entered in the request as 6789.
l If the transaction amount is 3.129, it must be entered in the request as 313.
Currency Conversion Service Settlement Currencies
Currency Conversion Service automatically converts client or processing center net financial positions
into the client's settlement currency supported by the International Settlement Service.
l If the local currency is one of the settlement currencies, settlement will be in the local
currency.
l If the local currency is not one of the settlement currencies, the client can choose any
supported settlement currency.

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BASE II Currency Conversion OIF Calculation

Issuers can choose to charge an Optional Issuer Fee (OIF) to the cardholder for transactions that
require currency conversion. The issuer can specify an intraregional or interregional optional issuer
service assessment, or both assessments.
The optional issuer fee, which may be a mark-up or rebate, is maintained in VisaNet databases
according to issuing identifiers. This optional fee is calculated at the time of currency conversion
using the percentage rate established by the issuer and is included in the transaction destination
amount. The client must contact Visa to implement an OIF.

BASE II Currency Rate Delivery

Monday through Friday, BASE II Clearing System obtains and verifies international currency rates
from various sources around the world. Visa determines the wholesale rate Monday through Friday
based on the cost to Visa for buying and selling currencies on the foreign exchange markets. Visa
uses these currency rates for that day’s financial transactions.
Visa offers these rates to subscribing clients as part of the VisaNet BASE II Clearing currency rate
delivery service. The service allows processors to choose to receive the rates with their interchange
files or immediately after the rates are available in BASE II Clearing System.

BASE II Currency Rate Calculation Process

Visa uses the calculations performed by BASE II to provide currency conversions.
BASE II uses two components for the currency conversion calculation:
l A buy and/or sell rate to obtain the Transaction Amount in Destination Currency (TADC).
l For currency conversion transactions, BASE II calculates the optional issuer fee (if any) for
sales drafts, credit vouchers, cash advances, and their reversals.
The sum of TADC and optional issuer fee is carried in the destination amount field.

BASE II Currency Conversion Process Flow

BASE II Clearing System applies the currency conversion calculation to the transaction flow to
manage the sending and receiving currency conversion information.
This figure illustrates a Currency Conversion Service process flow for a transaction acquired in U.S.
dollars for an Australian cardholder.

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BASE II Currency Conversion Service

Currency Conversion Service Process Flow

Acquirer Clearing
Issuer

The acquirer sends: Clearing performs standard The issuer receives:

Transaction currency = request processing, including:
USD100 · Original transaction
Clearing Conversion amount
Obtains cardholder billing · Converted
currency from the account transaction amount
range definition. Converts in the TADC
transaction currency to the
TADC.

Uses an optional issuer fee rate

to calculate the optional issuer
fee and adds it to the
transaction amount and TADC.

Settlement Conversion
Obtains issuer settlement
currency from the issuing
identifier. Converts transaction
currency to the issuer
settlement currency.

Obtains acquirer settlement

currency from the acquiring
identifier. Converts transaction
currency to the acquirer
settlement currency.

Within the currency conversion transaction process flow:

l The acquirer sends transaction that includes the transaction currency used at the point of sale
or point of service (POS).
l Clearing performs standard clearing processing and currency conversion, populating the
destination amount field with the transaction amount in the destination currency.
l Clearing populates the destination currency in the transaction to the issuer.

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Currency Rates
Standard currency rates are published by Visa Treasury on a daily basis. Clearing will utilize the rates
for the current central processing date (CPD).
Persistent FX honors the exchange rate at the time of authorization for eligible transactions.

BASE II Buy and Sell Currency Rates

VisaNet applies buy and sell rates to transactions during clearing and settlement.
The Visa currency conversion rate system involves specific terminology as defined in this table.

Term Description

Base This term is associated with a currency. Within VisaNet, variable units of a base currency
are equivalent to one unit of a counter currency.

Counter This term is associated with a currency. Within VisaNet, one unit of a counter currency is
equivalent to variable units of a base currency.

Buy Rate The buy rate in VisaNet is the number of units of base currency required to buy one unit
of the counter currency.

Sell Rate The sell rate in VisaNet is the number of units of base currency received from selling one
unit of the counter currency.

USD-Based Rate Pair In this type of pair, the U.S. dollar is always the base currency and fluctuates against the
counter currency. The counter currency will be a currency other than USD.

Exchange Direction This term is used to designate the set of currency conversion processing rules that will be
applied to a transaction based on the transaction type.

Transaction Amount in This term is used to identify the submitted transaction amount in the currency that is
Destination Currency appropriate to the destination endpoint. The TADC is included in the BASE II destination
(TADC) amount field. Besides the TADC, the fields may contain the optional issuer fee.
The BASE II destination amount field is provided in clearing transactions to the
destination client. Issuers have the discretion to increase or to decrease the amount in
this field when billing cardholders.

This table provides a mapping of the terminology used to the corresponding fields in BASE II.

Article Terminology BASE II TCR/Position

Source amount Draft Data TCR 0, Positions 77–88

1
TADC Draft Data TCR 0, Positions 62–73

1 In this section, only the TADC component is described and displayed in these fields. The OIF and currency conversion charge are
not addressed.

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BASE II Exchange Direction Classifications

The exchange direction classification, either buy–sell or sell–buy, is used to group types of
transactions that use the same set of currency conversion processing rules.
All original transactions, and their dispute financials and reversals are assigned the same exchange
direction classification.
—> Indicates that the flow is from the acquirer to the issuer.
<— Indicates that the flow is from the issuer to the acquirer.
<-> Indicates that the flow can be from either acquirer to issuer or issuer to acquirer.

Transaction Type Transaction Flow Money Flow

TC 05—Sales Drafts —> <—

TC 25—Sales Draft Reversals —> —>

TC 15—Sales Draft Dispute Financials <— —>

TC 35—Sales Draft Dispute Financial Reversals <— <—

TC 07—Cash Disbursements —> <—

TC 27—Cash Disbursement Reversals —> —>

TC 17—Cash Disbursement Dispute Financials <— —>

TC 37—Cash Disbursement Dispute Financial Reversals <— <—

TC 10—Fee Collections <-> <->

This table shows the sell-buy exchange direction type.

Transaction Type Transaction Flow Money Flow

TC 06—Credit Vouchers —> —>

TC 26—Credit Voucher Reversals —> <—

TC 16—Credit Voucher Dispute Financials <— <—

TC 07—Cash Disbursements —> <—

TC 27—Cash Disbursement Reversals —> —>

TC 36—Credit Voucher Dispute Financial Reversals <— —>

TC 20—Funds Disbursements <-> <->

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BASE II USD-Based Rates

VisaNet uses USD-based rates to determine amounts in transactions, regardless of transaction type,
when either or both the source amount or the TADC is specified in a non-USD currency and a non-
USD-based rate pair that matches the currencies in the transaction is not on the rate file.
VisaNet uses USD-based rates when these conditions are met:
l Either or both the source amount or the TADC is specified in a non-USD currency.
l A non-USD-based rate pair that matches the currencies in the transaction is not on the rate
file.
VisaNet uses the source amount submitted in the transaction to calculate the TADC.

BASE II USD-Based Rate Processing Rules

The Processing Rules for USD-Based Rate Calculations table shows the processing rules that are
applied to determine the TADC using USD-based rates. The information in the Exchange Direction
column indicates a grouping of transaction types to which the currency conversion processing rules
will apply.
The information in the Processing Rule column is provided to indicate which rule was applied to a
transaction in the scenarios that follow in this section. The information in the Currency Combination
column indicates the type of conversion required.

1
Exchange From To Rule Currency Processing Rule
Direction Field Field Combination

Buy-Sell Source TADC DB-1 Non-USD to Source amount x buy rate of source currency.
Amount USD

DB-2 USD to non- Source amount ÷ sell rate of destination

USD currency.

DB-3 Non-USD to No conversion required.

same non-USD

DB-4 Non-USD to This type of transaction requires this

other non-USD conversion process:

l Source currency to USD: Source amount x

buy rate of source currency.
l USD to destination: USD amount ÷ sell rate
of destination currency.

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1
Exchange From To Rule Currency Processing Rule
Direction Field Field Combination

Sell-Buy Source TADC DB-5 Non-USD to Source amount x sell rate of source currency.
Amount USD

DB-6 USD to non- Source amount ÷ buy rate of destination

USD currency.

DB-7 Non-USD to No conversion required.

same non-USD

DB-8 Non-USD to This type of transaction requires this

other non-USD conversion process:

l Source currency to USD: Source amount x

sell rate of source currency.
l USD to destination: USD amount ÷ buy
rate of destination currency.

1 DB = U.S. dollar-based

BASE II USD-Based Currency Conversion

Scenarios
These scenarios illustrate how VisaNet applies USD-based rates to original purchase transactions to
calculate the TADC. The calculated TADC only reflects the conversion from the amount submitted in
the source amount field and does not include any assessments or charges.

BASE II USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #1

In this scenario, an original purchase transaction is submitted to VisaNet for a purchase made by a
USD cardholder at an ABC merchant. The purchase amount of the transaction is ABC 1,000.00. The
relationship between the originator of the transaction and the type of currency in the transaction is
as follows:
l Source = ABC = Counter currency
l Destination = USD = Base currency
This table lists the USD-based rate pairings and rates that are used to calculate the TADC in these
scenarios.

Scenario Counter Currency Base Currency Buy Rate Sell Rate

1&2 ABC USD Buy-A Sell-A

2&3 XYZ USD Buy-B Sell-B

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Because the currency of the TADC is USD, only the buy rate is applied to this transaction. VisaNet
converts the source amount to the TADC using the:
l USD-based rate pairing of ABC/USD
l DB–1 rule: Non-USD to USD formula: source amount x buy rate of source currency
As applied to this transaction, the calculation is:

ABC 1,000.00

x Buy–A (Buy rate)

USD = TADC

This table shows the content of the source amount and TADC fields and corresponding currency
code fields in BASE II sales draft transactions. All positions referenced are carried in the Draft Data
TCR 0 record.

Populated by Acquirer Populated by Visa Visa Performed Calculation

Positions 77–88 000000100000 Positions 62–73 Amount in U.S. DB–1 rule: Non-USD to USD:
dollars Source amount x buy rate of
source currency.
Positions 89–91 Numeric value for Positions 74–76 840
currency code ABC As applied to the transaction:
ABC 1,000.00 x Buy–A = USD
TADC.

BASE II USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #2

In this scenario, an original purchase transaction is submitted to VisaNet for a purchase made by an
XYZ cardholder at a USD merchant. The purchase amount of the transaction is USD$400.00. The
relationship between the originator of the transaction and the type of currency in the transaction is
as follows:
l Source = USD = Base currency
l Destination = XYZ = Counter currency
This table lists the USD-based rate pairings and rates that are used to calculate the TADC in these
scenarios.

Scenario Counter Currency Base Currency Buy Rate Sell Rate

1&2 ABC USD Buy-A Sell-A

2&3 XYZ USD Buy-B Sell-B

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BASE II Currency Conversion Service

Because the currency of the source amount is USD, only the sell rate is applied to the transaction.
VisaNet converts the source amount to the TADC using the:
l USD-based rate pairing of XYZ/USD
l DB–2 rule: USD to non-USD formula: source amount ÷ sell rate of destination currency
As applied to this transaction, the calculation is:

USD 1,000.00

x Sell–B (Sell rate)

XYZ = TADC

This table shows the content of the source amount and TADC fields and corresponding currency
code fields in BASE II sales draft transactions. All positions referenced are carried in the Draft Data
TCR 0 record.

Populated by Acquirer Populated by Visa Visa Performed Calculation

Positions 77–88 000000400000 Positions 62–73 Amount in XYZ DB–2 rule: USD to non-USD
currency currency: Source amount ÷ sell
rate of destination currency.
Positions 89–91 840 Positions 74–76 Numeric value for
currency code XYZ As applied to the transaction:
USD 400.00 ÷ Sell–B = XYZ
TADC.

BASE II USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #3

In this scenario, an original purchase transaction is submitted to VisaNet for a purchase made by an
XYZ cardholder at an ABC merchant. The purchase amount of the transaction is ABC 1,000.00. The
relationship between the originator of the transaction and the type of currency in the transaction is
as follows:
l Source = ABC = Counter currency
l Destination = XYZ = Counter currency
This table lists the USD-based rate pairings and rates that are used to calculate the TADC in these
scenarios.

Scenario Counter Currency Base Currency Buy Rate Sell Rate

1&2 ABC USD Buy-A Sell-A

2&3 XYZ USD Buy-B Sell-B

In this scenario, the source currency and the TADC are both counter currencies to the U.S. dollar.
However, the rate file does not contain a non-USD-based rate pair that matches the currencies in the
transaction, so USD-based rate pairs are used for the conversion. Because the source currency and

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BASE II Currency Conversion Service

the TADC are in currencies other than USD, both buy and sell rates are applied to this transaction. To
convert the source amount to the TADC, VisaNet performs two calculations converting the currencies
through the U.S. dollar using the:
l USD-based rate pairing of ABC/USD
l USD-based rate pairing of XYZ/USD
l DB–4 rule: Non-USD to other non-USD formula:
n Source amount x buy rate of source currency
n USD amount ÷ sell rate of destination currency
As applied to this transaction, the calculations are:

ABC 1,000.00

x Buy–A (Buy rate)

USD = VisaNet interim amount

÷ Sell–B (Sell rate)

XYZ = TADC

This table shows the content of the source amount and TADC fields and corresponding currency
code fields in BASE II sales draft transactions. All positions referenced are carried in the Draft Data
TCR 0 record.

Populated by Acquirer Populated by Visa Visa Performed Calculation

Positions 77–88 000000100000 Positions 62–73 Amount in XYZ DB–4 rule: Non-USD to other
currency non-USD currency:

Positions 89–91 Numeric value for Positions 74–76 Numeric value for l Source amount x buy rate
currency code ABC currency code XYZ of source currency.
l USD amount ÷ sell rate of
destination currency.
As applied to the transaction:

l ABC 1,0000 x Buy–A = USD

amount.
l USD amount ÷ Sell–B =
XYZ TADC.

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BASE II Non-USD-Based Currency Conversion

Scenarios
VisaNet uses non-USD-based rates to determine the TADC in transactions, regardless of transaction
type, when the source amount and the TADC are in different non-USD currencies and a non-USD-
based rate pair exists. The base currency will be in a currency other than U.S. dollars.
Non-USD-based rate pairs are also used to calculate settlement amounts under these conditions:
l A non-USD-based rate pair was used to calculate the TADC.
l A non-USD-based rate exists that matches the currencies of the source amount and the
specified settlement amount, either source settlement amount or destination settlement
amount.
USD-based rates are applied to all other amounts in the transaction.
VisaNet uses the source amount submitted in the transaction to calculate the TADC. The Processing
Rules for Non-USD-Based Rate Calculations table shows the processing rules that are applied to
determine the TADC using non-USD-based rate pairs. The information in the Exchange Direction
column indicates a grouping of transaction types to which the currency conversion processing rules
apply.
The information in the Processing Rule column is provided to indicate which rule was applied to a
transaction in the scenarios that follow. The information in the Currency Combination column
indicates the type of conversion required.

1
Exchange From To Rule Currency Processing Rule
Direction Field Field Combination

Buy-Sell Source TADC NDB–1 Counter Source amount x buy rate of source currency.
Amount currency to
base currency

NDB–2 Base currency Source amount ÷ sell rate of destination

to counter currency.
currency

Sell-Buy Source TADC NDB-3 Counter Source amount x sell rate of source currency.
Amount currency to
base currency

NDB-4 Base currency Source amount ÷ buy rate of destination

to counter currency.
currency

1 NDB = non-U.S. dollar-based

These scenarios are provided to illustrate how VisaNet applies the non-USD-based rate pairs in
original purchase transactions to calculate the TADC. The calculated TADC only reflects the
conversion from the amount submitted in the source amount field and does not include any service
assessments or charges.

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BASE II Currency Conversion Service

BASE II Non-USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #1

In this scenario, an original purchase transaction is submitted to VisaNet for a purchase made by an
MNO cardholder at an XYZ merchant. The purchase amount of the transaction is XYZ 700.00. The
relationship between the originator of the transaction and the type of currency in the transaction is
as follows:
l Source = XYZ = Counter currency
l Destination = MNO = Base currency
This table lists the non-USD-based rate pairings and rates that are used to calculate the TADC in the
scenarios.

Scenario Counter Currency Base Currency Buy Rate Sell Rate

1 XYZ MNO Buy-C Sell-C

2 MNO ABC Buy-D Sell-D

Because the currency of the TADC is the same as the base currency, only the buy rate is applied to
this transaction. VisaNet converts the source amount to the TADC using the:
l Non-USD-based rate pairing of XYZ/MNO
l NDB–1 rule: Counter currency to base currency formula: source amount x buy rate of source
currency
As applied to this transaction, the calculation is:

XYZ 700.00

x Buy–C (Buy rate)

MNO = TADC

This table shows the content of the source amount and TADC fields and corresponding currency
code fields in BASE II sales draft transactions. All positions referenced are carried in the Draft Data
TCR 0 record.

Populated by Acquirer Populated by Visa Visa Performed Calculation

Positions 77–88 000000070000 Positions 62–73 Amount in MNO – NDB–1 rule: Counter currency
source amount x to base currency: Source
buy rate of source amount x buy rate of source
currency currency.

Positions 89–91 Numeric value for Positions 74–76 Numeric value for As applied to the transaction:
currency code XYZ currency code XYZ 700.00 x Buy–C = MNO
MNO TADC.

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BASE II Currency Conversion Service

BASE II Non-USD-Based Currency Conversion Scenario #2

In this scenario, an original purchase transaction is submitted to VisaNet for a purchase made by an
MNO cardholder at an ABC merchant. The purchase amount of the transaction is ABC 500.00. The
relationship between the originator of the transaction and the type of currency in the transaction is
as follows:
l Source = ABC = Base currency
l Destination = MNO = Counter currency
This table lists the non-USD-based rate pairings and rates that are used to calculate the TADC in the
scenarios.

Scenario Counter Currency Base Currency Buy Rate Sell Rate

1 XYZ MNO Buy-C Sell-C

2 MNO ABC Buy-D Sell-D

Because the currency of the source amount is the same as the base currency, only the sell rate is
applied to the transaction. VisaNet converts the source amount to the TADC using the:
l Non-USD-based rate pairing of MNO/ABC
l NDB–2 rule: Base currency to counter currency formula: source amount ÷ sell rate of
destination currency
As applied to this transaction, the calculation is:

ABC 500.00

x Sell–D (Sell rate)

MNO = TADC

This table shows the content of the source amount and TADC fields and corresponding currency
code fields in BASE II sales draft transactions. All positions referenced are carried in the Draft Data
TCR 0 record.

Populated by Acquirer Populated by Visa Visa Performed Calculation

Positions 77–88 000000050000 Positions 62–73 Amount in MNO NDB–2 rule: Base currency to
currency counter currency: Source
amount ÷ sell rate of
Positions 89–91 Numeric value for Positions 74–76 Numeric value for destination currency.
currency code ABC currency code
MNO As applied to the transaction:
ABC 500.00 ÷ Sell–D = MNO
TADC.

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BASE II Currency Conversion Service

BASE II Currency Conversion Rate

Update Records
The Currency Conversion Rate Update Records (TC 56) are sent by VisaNet to transmit daily updates
to the client. VisaNet provides subscribing clients with the same Currency Conversion Rate
information that it uses, so that clients can have the actual conversion rate used. Clients must
subscribe to this service to receive the conversion rates.
Each currency conversion rate update transaction contains eleven different entries; the last record in
the file may contain fewer than eleven. Each entry contains the ISO numeric Currency Code of the
counter currency, the ISO numeric Currency Code of the base currency, VIC Processing Date, the buy
conversion and sell conversion rate applied to the currency that day, and the currency scale factor
identifier for each of the conversion rates.
See BASE II Clearing Interchange Formats, TC 50 to TC 92.

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Chapter 9
VisaNet Settlement Service

VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) performs settlement for BASE II clearing transactions and V.I.P full
financial transactions in a single, centralized service, enabling clients to manage settlement processes
more effectively.

VSS Overview
Issuers, acquirers, and processors in all regions are eligible to use the VisaNet Settlement Service.
VSS is for V.I.P. full financial transactions and BASE II clearing records.
Visa offers these settlement services:
l International Settlement Service
l National Net Settlement Service (NNSS)
l Area Net Settlement Service (ANSS)

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VisaNet Settlement Service

VSS Description
Once clearing has been performed (on all BASE II clearing records and V.I.P. full financial
transactions), the cleared transactions are sent to VSS for settlement cut off.
The International Settlement Service is used to settle all international transactions and domestic
transactions for clients that do not participate in National Net Settlement Service (NNSS) or Area Net
Settlement Service (ANSS).
The NNSS or ANSS allows clients within a country or defined area to settle qualifying domestic
transactions through a central settlement agent bank. Qualifying transactions are those for which the
merchant, acquirer, and issuer are in the same country, or defined area, and the transaction currency
is the local currency for that country or defined area.
VisaNet Settlement Service Settlement Relationships
VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) provides flexibility when defining settlement relationships. Clients
can define from two to eight levels of settlement relationships. The different levels allow clients to
build and maintain the most appropriate settlement relationships for their business needs. For
example, the settlement relationship levels can be used to reflect the products in a client's
organization. With this flexibility, clients can easily and efficiently manage settlement functions.
VisaNet Settlement Service Reporting Entities
VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) provides flexibility to clients through the use of settlement
reporting entities (SREs) and settlement hierarchies. The SRE represents a business entity for which
Visa performs settlement. SREs are linked together to form a structure called a settlement hierarchy.
A settlement hierarchy is designed by a client to support the client's business needs.
VisaNet Settlement Service Report Layouts and Formats
VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) reports provide a common layout for BASE II- and V.I.P. Full Service
clients. This common layout allows all clients to streamline their internal procedures.
All VSS reports are available in print-ready and machine-readable formats. VSS reports use business-
oriented terminology to better reflect the business needs of clients.
VisaNet Settlement Service Report Delivery
Clients can have their VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) reports sent to multiple locations of their
choice, including locations other than their processing centers. Interchange routing does not
determine the routing of settlement information.
Funds Transfer Point
For VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS), the funds transfer point can be defined at any level in the
settlement structure. This flexibility allows clients using third-party processors to be responsible for
their own funds transfer.
Alternately Routed and Split-Routed Transactions
Clients can specify how they want to settle their alternately routed or split-routed transactions. This
option is called alternate routing for V.I.P. Full Service and split routing for BASE II. They can elect
to settle these transactions with their normally routed transactions or separately.

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National Settlement Cutoff Time

Clients that participate in NNSS or ANSS have the option to settle domestic activity at a time that is
appropriate to their business day. The specific settlement time can be different from the International
Settlement Service cutoff time. To use this feature, all clients participating in a particular NNSS or
ANSS must agree on a common settlement cutoff time.

VSS Processing
The settlement records generated by BASE II are processed by VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS),
which accumulates them and produces reconciliation reports for the issuer and acquirer detailing the
net settlement amount.

VSS Settlement Timing

Visa settles with its clients on a daily basis through the VisaNet Settlement System (VSS). Settlement
reports are run and transmitted after the close of the clearing cycle so that the settlement
information is available to clients at the beginning of their business day.

VSS Funds Transfer

The final step in the VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) settlement process is funds transfer, during
which funds are collected from settlement entities with a net debit position, and paid to settlement
entities with a net credit position.
Funds transfer refers to the movement of funds between the client's settlement bank and the
settlement agent's settlement bank for the purpose of settlement. Funds transfers represent the net
position of the client's credits and debits.
For international settlement, the settlement account can be either a Demand Deposit Account (DDA)
or a general ledger account depending on the client's business requirements. Whichever is used, the
account must be open and funded before settlement begins. The account type must be set up to
receive and process drawdown requests. For funds transfer to take place, the authority for Visa to
draw down against the client's settlement account must be granted through the completion of
Settlement Funds Transfer (SFT) forms and the exchange of authorization letters when required.
The currency of the net funds transfer amount must be associated to a settlement account of like
currency. Several funds transfers can be associated to the same bank account.
For international settlement, funds can be settled with a client-selected settlement bank in the
client's settlement currency, but the currency must be one that has been established by Visa as a
settlement currency.

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VSS Benefits
VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) provides clients with significant flexibility and control in organizing
and reporting settlement data and funds transfers. Multiple reporting levels that can be mapped to
the clients’ business structure gives better financial control over funds transfers. Clearly designed
reports make reconciliation easier and more efficient. Because all reports are available in machine-
readable format, clients can develop an automated reconciliation system that can save substantial
time and resources in back-office processing.

VSS Features
VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) offers clients these features:
l Flexibility in establishing settlement relationships.
l Standardized report layouts in print-ready and machine-readable formats.
l Several report delivery options.
l Choice of settlement options for alternately routed and split-routed transactions.
l Ability to specify end-of-day cutoff times for all clients participating in National Net
Settlement Service (NNSS) or Area Net Settlement Service (ANSS).
l Alternative report formats.

VSS Requirements
In order to participate in the VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS), clients must fulfill the testing and
implementation requirements.

VSS Testing
VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) testing is available for clients preparing for VSS implementation or
for modifying their existing VSS hierarchies or report subscriptions. Testing enables clients to receive
files and reports that can be used to test their internal systems and procedures.
During VSS testing with VisaNet, the client is responsible for validating test results and ensuring that
the VSS reports and files can be processed correctly.

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VSS Implementations
Clients can use either a standard or custom method for implementing VisaNet Settlement Service
(VSS). It is up to the client to decide which strategy to use.
l Standard—This implementation type creates a two-level hierarchy with one top settlement
reporting entity (SRE) that includes parameters that define the entire hierarchy, such as the
settlement currency code. The top SRE also represents a summary of all SREs below the top
SRE. In a standard hierarchy, the top SRE represents all activity cleared (processed) by the
processor. The lowest-level SREs are either clearing identifiers (acquirers and issuers) or
account ranges (issuers). Funds transfer can occur at the top level or at the lowest level
(client-level settlement). Reporting options for a standard hierarchy can be defined by groups
of acquiring or issuing identifiers or can apply to all SREs within the hierarchy. Multiple report
delivery destinations must be requested as a custom implementation.
l Custom—Customizing a standard hierarchy may be needed for many reasons including the
following:
n Using mid-level summary reporting
n Establishing additional funds transfer points
n Sending reports to additional endpoints
n Creating a VSS hierarchy that involves acquiring or issuing identifiers clearing through
multiple processors.

VSS Documentation
The following documentation is available:
l VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) User’s Guide, Volume 1, Specifications
l VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) User’s Guide, Volume 2, Reports
l VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) Quick Look Cards

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Chapter 10
VisaNet Copy Request &
Fulfillment Service

VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) allows clients to request and deliver sales
drafts via electronic exchange of Request for Copy (RFC) messages among issuers and acquirers.
Note: RFC messages are no longer valid and will be returned as of October 2021.

VCRFS Overview
VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) is an automated process that supports the
electronic exchange of Request for Copy (RFC) message-related information among issuers and
acquirers. VCRFS increases the efficiency of a client's back-office operations, reduces operating costs,
and improves customer service by facilitating the process of requesting and delivering sales drafts
between clients.
Participation in VCRFS is mandatory for all issuers and acquirers in all Visa regions.

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VCRFS-Issuers
VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) provides issuers with a complete set of
electronic functions that can make their back-office processing simpler and more efficient.
Issuers can:
l Send a Request for Copy (RFC) requesting automated fulfillment.
l Receive RFC advices.
l Receive automated fulfillments.
l Receive nonfulfillment messages.
l Route fulfillment and nonfulfillment details automatically to an imaging system.

VCRFS-Acquirers
VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) offers acquirers a full complement of
electronic functions to simplify and enhance back-office processing.
Acquirers can:
l Receive Request for Copy (RFC) advices.
l Send automated fulfillments.
l Transfer fulfillments directly from imaging systems to client's host system.
l Send nonfulfillment messages.

VCRFS Description
VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) provides both issuers and acquirers with a fast
and easy way to send and receive Request for Copy (RFC) transactions.
VCRFS enables clients to request and deliver copies of sales drafts among issuers and acquirers. The
issuer sends an RFC and the acquirer responds by sending a fulfillment or nonfulfillment message
through VROL.

VCRFS Issuer Perspective

VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) provides issuers with faster responses to copy
requests, which improves productivity and enhances customer service.
A Request for Copy (RFC) message can be submitted with normal outgoing BASE II interchange or
through VROL when a copy of a transaction receipt or other sales document is needed because of a

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cardholder dispute or fraud inquiry. The message must contain a code asking for an electronic
response to the request.
VCRFS enhances the message by adding a unique identification number for tracking purposes. It also
verifies that the acquirer can fulfill the request electronically. If the request is for a domestic
transaction in a Custom Payment Service (CPS) country (Brazil and the U.S.), it is validated by the
Enhanced Chargeback Reduction Service. The enhanced request is then delivered to the acquirer.
VCRFS also sends the issuer and acquirer an electronic advice to indicate that a request has been
initiated. These advices are delivered through VisaNet interchange to VROL, VIEW, or VIEW OnLine.
Upon receipt, the acquirer fulfills the Request for Copy.

VCRFS Acquirer Perspective

Acquirers that participate in VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) receive electronic
copy requests through their existing VisaNet connection.
Once the acquirer determines by service reports that the issuer is a VCRFS participant, the first step
after receiving a copy request is to locate the requested document. The acquirer then scans the
document (or imports it from the acquirer’s host imaging system) into VROL. If the request cannot be
fulfilled, an electronic nonfulfillment message is sent to the issuer to explain the reason. Upon receipt
of the response, the issuer can forward a printed copy of the image to the cardholder or follow up in
the case of a nonfulfillment message.

VCRFS Benefits
VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) not only reduces operating costs, but also
significantly improves a client's customer service by expediting the flow and timeliness of
information.
This service:
l Delivers copy requests and sales draft copies using BASE II Clearing and guarantees delivery
of copies.
l Gives clients the choice of hardware used to connect to the service.
l Scans the sales draft and sends the image, along with identifying data, through VROL (either
from merchant to requesting acquirer or from acquirer to issuer).
l Provides reports with VCRFS activity.

VCRFS Features
VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) features include guaranteed delivery, fast
response time, efficient processing, comprehensive reports, and full customer support. The

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implementation of VCRFS increases the efficiency of back-office operations, reduces operating costs,
and improves customer service.
l Guaranteed delivery—VCRFS eliminates the possibility that requests or fulfillments could be
lost in the mail because copy requests and fulfillments are delivered electronically. Each copy
request is assigned a unique identification number through VCRFS that follows it throughout
the request and fulfillment lifecycle and provides an audit trail that saves time and resources
in researching requests.
l Fast response time—The electronic delivery of fulfillments significantly improves response
time as compared to mail delivery. Acquirers receive requests faster and the time it takes to
deliver copies or nonfulfillment messages to issuers is quicker, which enables a faster
response to cardholder inquiries, resulting in improved cardholder service.
l Efficient processing—As an automated delivery mechanism, VCRFS positively affects back-
office operations through reduced float and lower processing costs. By shortening the time it
takes for issuers to receive fulfillments and resolve disputes, provisional credits remain in
cardholder accounts for less time, so float costs are lower. Processing costs are also reduced
because fewer manual resources are needed to process, track, and research requests.
l Full customer support—VCRFS participants have access to ongoing support from Visa. VCRFS
support is available to provide any information or assistance needed.

VCRFS Delivery Options

VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) can be accessed and utilized in multiple ways.

VCRFS-VROL
Visa Resolve Online (VROL) is a web-based service that enables issuers to create Request for Copy
(RFC) messages. When an RFC transaction is sent either from VROL or from a client's host-based
VisaNet connection, RFC advices (one for the issuer and another for the acquirer) are created and
delivered to VROL.
Issuers and acquirers see RFC advices in the work queues. Acquirers can use VROL to respond to RFC
advices by either fulfilling with a copy of the sales draft or sending a nonfulfillment message.
The Bulk SI Upload Request file contains dispute information that is sent to the opposing clients. The
issuer’s file contains outgoing RFC transactions. The acquirer’s file contains outgoing RFC fulfillments
and nonfulfillments.
The Bulk SI Download Response is generated automatically; however, it can be re-requested by a
Bulk SI Download Request. It contains a client's incoming Dispute Resolution forms and supporting
documentation.
l For an issuer, this contains incoming documents related to RFC fulfillments and
nonfulfillments, RFC advices, RFC rejects.
l For an acquirer, this contains RFC advices.

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VCRFS-VisaNet
VisaNet is comprised of networks and systems, through which Visa delivers authorization clearing
and settlement services to clients.
For VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS), VisaNet provides:
l Delivery and validation of Request for Copy (RFC) messages between issuers and acquirers.
l Delivery of RFC advices to issuer and acquirer workstations.
l Support for the various routing options that allow VCRFS to facilitate client workflows.

VCRFS Requirements
Clients must define their business requirements for implementing VisaNet Copy Request and
Fulfillment Service (VCRFS). Visa works with clients to develop project plans and complete required
tasks for successful implementation.
BASE II issuers must change their host processing environments to support automated Request for
Copy (RFC) messages by setting the TC 52 (TCR 1, Position 39) with a value of 1.
Acquirers automatically have TCR 1, Position 40 populated with the value of ‘1’. Therefore, acquirers
do not have to do coding changes to their host environments.

VCRFS Fees and Charges

VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) sets fees and charges for using the service.
Fees are the amounts that clients pay each other. Charges are amounts that clients pay to Visa for the
use of the service.

VCRFS Fees
VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) charges retrieval request and incentive request
fees to clients that use the service.
Retrieval Request Fees
Retrieval Request fees are fees paid by the issuer to the acquirer for each request made. VisaNet
collects and disburses the fees to both the issuer and the acquirer. The fees are determined and
settled during the central processing date (CPD) cycle in which the request is processed.
Incentive Fees
Incentive fees are fees paid by the issuer to the acquirer. VisaNet generates fees according to the
timeliness of an acquirer’s response to an RFC item that is non-U.S. domestic (where only one side is

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in the U.S. or both parties are outside the U.S.). For U.S. Domestic, incentive fees are included in the
Interchange Reimbursement Fee of the actual TC 52 based on the request reason code.
Each fee is based on the elapsed time between the central processing date (CPD) of the retrieval
request and the CPD of the response. The shorter the response elapsed time for the response, the
higher the incentive fee.

VCRFS Charges
Visa assesses VisaNet Copy Request and Fulfillment Service (VCRFS) participants per-transaction
charges for the messages routed through VisaNet from their VCRFS endpoints.

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Chapter 11
Visa Resolve Online Service

Visa Resolve Online (VROL) is a web-based service that automates and simplifies the dispute
resolution process.
Information about VROL, including VROL service overview, features, enrollment, contact information,
and available client documentation, can be found via Visa Online (VOL) > Operations > Dispute
Resolution > Visa Resolve Online.

VROL Overview
Visa Resolve Online (VROL) enables clients to retrieve transaction information online, exchange
information electronically, send and receive financials and other types of dispute transactions, report
fraudulent transactions, manage exception file listings, submit arbitration and compliance cases, and
receive rulings online.
VROL helps clients manage Visa transaction disputes and prevent disputes from occurring. VROL is
designed to expedite information exchange and guide users through all stages of a dispute, from the
initial inquiry through final resolution.
Clients may choose to have dispute financials generated through VROL. VROL routes these as BASE II
financial transactions or as V.I.P. full financial transactions based on client configurations set up in
VROL. Clients may also choose to send dispute transactions from their host system directly to BASE II
or to V.I.P. as full financial messages.

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Visa Resolve Online Service

Acquirers, issuers, and their processors in all Visa regions are required to use VROL to exchange
dispute-supporting documentation.

VROL Description
Visa Resolve Online (VROL) offers a set of user interface (UI) screens to manage the dispute process
and a set of systems interfaces (SI) to allow integration with the client's existing applications on their
host systems.
VROL is accessible through these interface alternatives:
l UI: Provides a set of UI screens that are accessible from a common web browser.
l Real-Time Systems Interface (RTSI): Allows custom system integration between a client's
system and VROL through a set of real-time web services.
l Bulk Systems Interface (Bulk SI): Uses one of Visa's secure file delivery services.
The UI is the quickest and simplest interface to implement because it accesses VROL over an existing
internet connection maintained by the client, which means there is no in-house system customization
required.
VROL is accessible through a link on the main page of each regional Visa Online (VOL) website. Each
user must have a valid VOL user ID that entitles them to access VROL. Clients must log in and be
authenticated by VOL before accessing VROL.
The Visa Administrator or Client Site Administrator grants VROL users access to specific features
based on their assigned roles as determined by the client's region. Details about each user and their
roles are maintained in the user profiles.

VROL Features
Visa Resolve Online (VROL) provides a number of key features that automate and simplify the dispute
resolution process. The use of these features is limited to the interface alternative selected by the
client.
Retrieve and View Transaction Information
VROL enables clients to create a Transaction Inquiry (TI) to search Visa’s databases for original
authorization and settlement transaction information. Clients can obtain a history of activity for an
account through the UI for fraud reporting and exception file listing transactions. Client staff can
make inquiries about cardholder or merchant transactions and receive enough detailed information
to help determine whether or not there is a dispute.
For merchants subscribed to the Order Insight service, digital receipts are available for transaction
inquiries on both transactions processed by Visa and not processed by Visa.
Exchange Information Electronically

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VROL automates the exchange of documentation and information, to improve and speed up the
dispute process. Dispute resolution and imaging can be completed online by the issuer with
information from the cardholder and then submitted to the acquirer electronically.
Imaging is the function that adds scanned documents to case folders or attaches them to
questionnaires as supporting documentation, eliminating the mailing and tedious matching of
documentation.
Manage Work Flows
VROL provides work queues and reporting to manage and track cases. This process helps clients
reconcile the delivery of the questionnaire and any attached documentation with the actual clearing
of a dispute financial or dispute response financial.
VROL provides basic user, billing, processing, reconciliation, and statistical reports that are available
for online display, print, or as data files for export to other applications.
Report Fraud Transactions
VROL enables clients to report fraudulent transactions to Visa. Fraud disputes deal with issues related
to the compromise of account data, for example, stolen card numbers.
Manage Exception File Listings
VROL enables issuers to manage exception file listings including querying the exception file, creating
new exception file listings, updating or deleting existing listings, and repairing rejects.
Facilitating Rapid Dispute Resolution
Enables issuers to address cardholder disputes or facilitate an expedited resolution to resolve the
dispute before entering into a dispute process.
Processing Disputes
The dispute process allows issuers to submit one or more transactions for the correction of liablility
as per the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules.
Dispute Pre-Filings
Dispute pre-filing is used to refer to dispute-related Pre-Arbitration or Pre-Compliance
questionnaires found in VROL. Clients can initiate Pre-Filing questionnaires in VROL by continuing a
dispute from within an existing case or by initiating a Pre-Compliance from TI. The user must give a
reason for initiating the Pre-Filing. The opposing party will send a Pre-Filing response, either
accepting full or partial liability or continuing the process by declining the Pre-Filing.
Dispute Case Filings
A client files dispute Arbitration and Compliance cases with Visa via VROL. This is used when clients
have not been able to resolve a dispute without Visa's involvement.
Process Financial Transactions
VROL enables clients to create dispute financial and dispute response financial transactions and
corresponding reversal transactions to BASE II. This capability eliminates the need for clients to enter
the financial transaction and original questionnaire in separate applications.
Financial transactions created in VROL that are rejected by BASE II can be corrected in VROL.

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File Arbitration and Compliance Cases

VROL provides an online facility for the filing arbitration and compliance cases with Visa that includes
notifying the opposing client as part of the process. Online notification of final decision to both
parties helps complete the process in a timely manner.

VROL Requirements
Visa Resolve Online (VROL) clients must select the interface alternative and network connectivity that
best meets their requirements. To implement VROL, there are several network and hardware and
software requirements that clients must fulfill depending on the interface alternatives and network
connectivity option they have selected. There are other requirements including User ID and Routing
ID.
VROL distinguishes between issuers, acquirers, and dual organizations. Clients who have separate
issuer and acquirer organizations must have two Visa Online (VOL) user IDs to access VROL, one as
an issuer, the other as an acquirer. Clients in a dual organization need only one VOL user ID.
The VROL Routing ID (RID) is used by VROL to uniquely identify a client or processor organization
and by BASE II to route transactions.

VROL Client Testing

Testing is available to clients implementing one or both of the systems interfaces available in Visa
Resolve Online (VROL). Testing is not generally available to clients using only the VROL user interface.

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Chapter 12
Custom Payment Service/ATM

Custom Payment Service (CPS)/ATM is an incentive program that provides accurate settlement and
improved management of cardholders' accounts through better matching of messages, from
authorization through clearing, using a unique transaction identifier (TID).

CPS Overview
Custom Payment Service (CPS) ensures more timely delivery of clearing records by acquirers and
reduces exception item processing by improving transaction integrity and lifecycle control.
Custom Payment Service (CPS) is available to clients in all Visa regions.

CPS Description
Custom Payment Service (CPS) is a set of special transaction processing requirements that help
clients reduce fraud and exception item processing costs by providing features such as improved
transaction integrity and lifecycle control. CPS supports domestic POS transactions and international
ATM transactions with custom rate incentive programs for different markets.

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CPS/ATM-Qualified
International ATM transactions that meet Custom Payment Service (CPS)/ATM requirements in BASE
II are considered CPS/ATM-compliant and the acquirer receives the Tier II cash disbursement fee.
l Authorization Characteristics Indicator (ACI) equals E.
l Requested Payment Service (RPS) equals 9.
l Validation code in authorization message and clearing record match.
l Clearing timeliness equals 3 calendar days or less.
l Amount tolerance factor is met. the amount submitted in BASE II must be equal to or less
than the amount authorized.
Note:
Full Service ATM acquirers’ technical processing of international ATM transactions
automatically qualifies for CPS/ATM and Tier II requirements; however, Full Service acquirers
will need to qualify and meet the CPS/ATM business requirements in order to comply with
Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules.

Non-Participation in CPS Liability

Participation for international ATM clients is mandatory, ATM clients participate in either the:
l CPS ATM service comprising of a qualified CPS ATM authorization message followed by a
CPS ATM BASE II clearing record.
or
l as a certified Full Service ATM endpoint (V.I.P. full financial ATM message) and be in
compliance with the Tier II requirements.
Acquirers that meet both the business and technical qualifications receive Tier II fees.
Full Service processing of ATM transactions is mandated for all ATM acquirers in the U.S. region and
for all new ATM acquirers in all regions.
All existing ATM acquirers must be certified to use Full Service ATM processing or participate in the
CPS ATM service.
International ATM transactions that do not meet these criteria lose all international cash
disbursement fees. International acquirers that do not qualify for Full Service ATM or for the
CPS/ATM service are assessed a minimum special ATM handling fee of USD.$5.00.

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CPS Benefits
Custom Payment Service (CPS) is a set of special transaction processing requirements that help
clients reduce fraud and exception item processing costs by providing features such as improved
transaction integrity and lifecycle control.
CPS supports domestic POS transactions and international ATM transactions with custom rate
incentive programs for different markets.

CPS Process Flow

Custom Payment Service (CPS) uses dual-message processing in which the acquirer submits separate
authorization and clearing transactions. CPS/ATM acquirers must submit ATM authorization
messages through the V.I.P. system and the clearing transaction through the BASE II system.
Note:
All international ATM transactions must qualify for CPS/ATM processing. Issuers not
participating in CPS/ATM are not required to make changes either to their authorization
systems or to their clearing systems. They will not receive any new fields relating to CPS/ATM.
The CPS/ATM process flow steps:
1. The acquirer submits an authorization request with an authorization characteristics indicator
(ACI) to indicate that this is a CPS transaction.
2. V.I.P. ensures that the transaction meets the criteria and evaluates the characteristics of the
request, then replaces the ACI value to reflect the authorization characteristics of the
transaction.
l V.I.P. generates a unique TID and passes it with the ACI to the issuer (if the issuer is
participating in CPS/ATM and chooses to receive it).
3. The issuer approves the transaction, sends the transaction back to V.I.P. with the authorization
response code, and optionally returns the ACI and the TID.
4. V.I.P. generates a validation code based on key authorization fields. V.I.P. forwards the
validation code with the ACI, the TID, and the authorization response code to the acquirer.
Note:
The validation code is not present in advices to issuers.

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5. The acquirer submits a clearing message to BASE II with a Requested Payment Service (RPS),
which specifies CPS/ATM. The clearing transaction contains the ACI, the TID, and the
validation code received from V.I.P. with the authorization response.
6. By regenerating the validation code, BASE II validates that the key authorization fields
contained in the clearing transaction match those sent in the authorization request and in the
CPS fields received in the outgoing response. BASE II applies edits to ensure that the
transaction qualifies for CPS/ATM.
VisaNet then forwards the transaction to the issuer with the ACI, the TID, and the RPS (if the
issuer participates in CPS/ATM).
The issuer uses the TID to match the clearing transaction to the authorization.

CPS Clearing
Custom Payment Service (CPS) uses an authorization message followed by a BASE II clearing record.
All Visa and Plus international ATM transactions using the CPS ATM Service must be authorized
through the V.I.P. system and cleared through BASE II.
Each CPS/ATM clearing message must include the transaction identifier (TID), an authorization
characteristics indicator (ACI) with the value E, the validation code from the authorization response,
and key CPS/ATM fields used to develop the validation code. All authorization requests must have
been approved and the clearing message submitted within three calendar days from the transaction
date.
Additionally, the clearing transaction must include the acquirer's request for the CPS/ATM fee
through the use of the Requested Payment Service (RPS). The RPS value 9 indicates that the
transaction complies with the CPS/ATM authorization and clearing qualification rules.
To qualify a transaction for CPS/ATM, V.I.P. performs a validation code check to ensure that key
authorization and clearing data elements are identical. A successful validation confirms that the
transaction has been properly authorized.
Authorization vs. Clearing Amounts
Authorization amounts must be equal to (but can be greater than) their clearing amounts. If the
source amount in the TCR 0, BASE II Draft Data, is equal to or less than the authorized amount in the
TCR 5, Payment Service Data, BASE II allows the transaction to be eligible for the CPS/ATM Tier II rate.
This processing supports misdispense transactions.
Reclassified Transactions
BASE II reclassifies transactions that do not meet the authorization-related edits for CPS/ATM as non-
CPS transactions. BASE II updates the ACI to X, indicating that the transaction does not qualify for
CPS/ATM. If a transaction fails to qualify for CPS/ATM, VisaNet applies non-CPS cash disbursement
fees.
Non-qualified CPS ATM transaction under the 3-calendar-day limit may be returned to the acquirer
for fixing and resubmission. The acquirer does not receive the international cash disbursement fee
for returned CPS ATM non-qualified transactions.
Delivering the Transaction to the Issuer

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If the issuer participates in CPS/ATM, a TCR 5 record is included as part of the draft data. This record
includes the TID.
Special ATM Handling Fee
Visa charges a special USD$5 handling fee for international ATM transactions that are not submitted
for CPS/ATM consideration or that fail to meet CPS/ATM fee edit criteria. Visa does not charge the
fee on a dispute response financial and does not return it to the acquirer on a dispute financial. The
fee appears on the monthly Integrated Billing statement in addition to any other special ATM
handling fees, such as that for submitting a transaction for clearing after the 3–calendar-day limit.
Data Requirements for Transaction Processing
This table identifies key Custom Payment Service (CPS) fields and explains how the authorization
fields are carried forward by the acquirer to populate the related fields in the BASE II records. It also
shows which key CPS/ATM fields are used to develop the validation code.

BASE II Transaction Fields

Used to Determine
BASE II Field Field Name Validation Code

TCR 0, positions 5–20 Account Number Yes

TCR 0, positions 1–2 Transaction Code

TCR 1, position 130 ATM Account Selection Yes

TCR 5, positions 20–31 Authorized Amount Yes

TCR 0, positions 133–136 Merchant Category Code

TCR 0, positions 162–163 POS Entry Mode

TCR 0, positions 28–33 Acquiring Identifier (in the Acquirer Yes

Reference Number)

n/a n/a

TCR 0, positions 152–157 Authorization Code

TCR 5, positions 35–36 Authorization Response Code

TCR 1, positions 96–103 Terminal ID

TCR 1, positions 81–95 Card Acceptor ID

TCR 0, positions 92–116 Merchant Name

TCR 0, positions 117–129 Merchant City

TCR 0, positions 130–132 Merchant Country Code Yes

TCR 5, positions 32–34 Authorization Currency Code Yes

n/a n/a

TCR 0, positions 142–144 Merchant State/Province Code

(U.S. region only)

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BASE II Transaction Fields

Used to Determine
BASE II Field Field Name Validation Code

TCR 0, position 151 Authorization Characteristics Indicator Yes

(ACI)

TCR 5, positions 5–19 Transaction Identifier Yes

TCR 5, positions 37–40 Validation Code

TCR 0, position 168 Reimbursement Attribute

TCR 4, positions 51–58 Surcharge Amount Yes

Transaction Identifier
All transactions contain a TID in the TCR 5. V.I.P. assigns a TID to all transactions at the time of
authorization. BASE II assigns a TID to all transactions.
Issuer processing centers receive the TCR 5 in incoming original ATM cash disbursement transactions.
An issuer receiving the TID is able to better manage cardholders' open-to-buy balances by matching
authorization and clearing records. If the issuer receives the TID in the TCR 5, it must retain it and
return it in subsequent dispute financial.

CPS Requirements
In order to use Custom Payment Service (CPS), issuers and acquirers must meet the business and
technical qualifications.
Issuers pay a fixed disbursement fee to the acquirer for each approved international Visa or Plus ATM
cash disbursement. The acquirer receives an ATM cash disbursement fee if the transaction meets all
the requirements for Tier II qualification.
Acquirers must have completed the necessary service certifications, demonstrating business and
technical qualifications. Following successful certification, qualification flags are set in the VisaNet
system.
This table displays the business and technical qualifications for Tier II fees.

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Qualification Type Qualification Description

Business Support all of the following:

l Provide cash withdrawal

l Use Visa Routing Table and Plus Routing Table (if all transactions are not routed to Visa)
l Accept all valid cards
l Comply with the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, including, but not
limited to:

– Reversal processing
– No expiration date editing
l Comply with acquirer quality service levels
l Comply with customer account selection option standards

Technical Acquirer must participate in Full Service ATM processing or meet CPS/ATM standards on
each V.I.P. authorization message and BASE II clearing record:

l V.I.P.

– Meet CPS/ATM edit requirements

– Participate in the CVV Service
– Use the Multicurrency Service for authorization requests
l BASE II

– Match authorization and clearing message data (account number, account selection
processing code, transaction amount, acquirer institution ID, merchant country code,
and currency code)
– Provide payment service fields, transaction identifier, validation code, authorization
characteristics indicator, and required payment service fields
– Supply ATM name and location fields
– Process authorization through VisaNet if transaction cleared through VisaNet
– Clear transaction within three days

If an ATM acquirer does not meet the Tier II standards, Visa may, at its discretion, remove the ATM
acquirer from the Tier II level.
Custom Payment Service (CPS) acquirers and issuers must be certified to send and to receive CPS-
specific fields. For international and intra-regional CPS/ATM transactions, participation is mandatory.
For domestic transactions see your Visa Representative for domestic requirements by region.
Tier I requirements for acquirers are as follows. Acquirers must have:
l Authorization and clearing processing through the same network
Tier II requirements for acquirers are as follows. Acquirers must:
l Meet Tier I requirements
l Participate in Full Service ATM processing or, for dual-message acquirers, participate in the
CPS/ATM Service.

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l Comply with the Visa international acquirer quality service standards.

l Participate in the Card Verification Value (CVV) Service. Plus authorization requests must
include code 05 or 90 in Field 22—Point-of-Service Entry Mode Code to be eligible for CVV
checking.
l Comply with customer account selection standards.

CPS/ATM Documentation
The following documentation is available:
l V.I.P. System BASE I Processing Specifications
l VisaNet Authorization-Only Online Messages Technical Specifications
l Full Service ATM Online Messages Processing Specifications (International)
l Full Service ATM Online Messages Technical Specifications
l V.I.P. System SMS Processing Specifications (U.S.)
l Visa Global ATM Member Guide

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Chapter 13
Custom Payment Service/POS

Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS is a series of payment services that are customized to serve the
needs of distinct merchant segments for point-of-sale (POS) transactions.

CPS/POS Overview
Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS accommodates different merchant procedures and decreases
fraud losses and operating expenses associated with each transaction. CPS/POS increases Visa client
profitability by reducing client operating costs, by improving risk management techniques, and by
increasing client revenues through increased card usage.
CPS/POS transactions can be processed as dual messages through V.I.P. and BASE II.
CPS/POS is available to clients in the U.S. region and Brazil.
Note:
United States (U.S.) participants should refer to the U.S. Interchange Reimbursement Fee (IRF)
Rate Qualification Guide.

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CPS/POS Description
Custom Payment Service (CPS) is a set of special transaction processing requirements that helps
clients reduce fraud and exception item processing costs by providing features such as improved
transaction integrity and lifecycle control. Custom Payment Service (CPS) acquirers must submit
authorization messages through the V.I.P. system and the clearing transaction through the BASE II
system.
This service description describes the CPS/POS incentive program processing requirements for card-
present (CP) and card-not-present (CNP) transactions. This service description applies only to non-
U.S. participants, and only for domestic national transactions. The national market covered is Brazil.

CPS/POS National Market Program: Brazil

To qualify for the CPS/POS program and for its associated rate, a transaction must have these
characteristics.
l Card present, cardholder signature obtained.
l One authorization per clearing transaction is allowed.
l Complete and unaltered contents of Track 1 or Track 2 of the card's magnetic stripe must be
read and be transmitted.
l The POS entry mode code in field 22 must be 90 or 05 and must be included in the
authorization request.
l Purchase date (transaction date) must be the authorization date.
l Transaction must clear within two days.
l For retail transactions including petrol, the clearing amount must equal the authorized
amount.
l For restaurant transactions, the clearing amount must be equal to or not more than 20%
above the authorized amount.
l The merchant category code must be valid:
n Petrol must be 5541.
n Restaurant must be 5812 or 5814.
l The validation code must be present and valid. For CPS originals and their reversals, this field
must contain the validation Code received in the authorization response, (V.I.P. Field 62.3). If
multiple authorizations were supplied, this field must contain the validation code from the
first authorization response.
This table identifies the Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS programs for the national markets of
Brazil. This national market processes CPS/POS transactions with an authorization message followed
by a BASE II clearing record:

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Card Card Not

CPS/POS Program Description Present Present

Brazil

CPS/Retail For retail transactions including those initiated at Yes

restaurants at which the magnetic stripe is read.

CPS/POS Qualifications
A transaction must qualify for a Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS program in its national market
to receive authorization-related chargeback protection. It must then meet additional requirements to
qualify for an applicable CPS rate.
All CPS/POS clearing transactions must contain the TID, the ACI, and the validation code from the
authorization response. For transactions with multiple authorizations, with an authorization reversal,
or with both, these data elements must be identical to those contained in the first authorization
response.
The clearing transaction must include the acquirer's request for a specific CPS/POS program using
the RPS field. The RPS value indicates that the transaction complies with the set of authorization and
clearing qualification rules for the CPS program requested.
To qualify a transaction for any CPS/POS program, a validation code check ensures that certain
authorization and clearing data elements are identical. A successful validation confirms that the
transaction has been properly authorized.

CPS/POS to Non-CPS/POS Reclassification

Transactions that fail to meet Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS program edit requirements are
reclassified as non-CPS transactions.
Acquirers may choose to have these transactions returned. If acquirers do not request this option,
these transactions are reclassified and are delivered to the issuer. BASE II updates the ACI to X, which
indicates that the transaction does not qualify as a CPS transaction. An advice is sent to the acquirer
as notification that the transaction was reclassified.
Reclassified transactions do not receive authorization-related chargeback protection and are not
eligible for the requested CPS rate, but do continue to receive lifecycle control.
Transactions that are reclassified as non-CPS receive the next best rate that can be applied. The
reimbursement attribute (RA) is updated to reflect the appropriate rate applied. The requested
payment service (RPS) field is updated to a space.
Some national market participants participate in the National Net Settlement Service (NNSS).
In those cases, the NNSS rate structure applies. Refer to the appropriate regional Operating
Regulations for more information.

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CPS/POS Fee Changes

Transactions that meet the requirements for the requested Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS
program, but fail to qualify for the CPS/POS rate, receive a fee change.
l The transaction fails to meet the clearing timeliness requirement for the CPS/POS rate
associated with the program.
l The transaction fails to meet industry-specific clearing data requirements.
Transactions that meet the requirements for the requested CPS/POS program, but fail to qualify for
the CPS/POS rate, still receive authorization-related chargeback protection. The RA is updated to
reflect the appropriate rate applied. The RPS value and the ACI are not changed when a transaction
qualifies for a particular CPS/POS program but does not qualify for a CPS/POS rate.
All transactions that qualify for the CPS/POS program requested but that fail either the clearing
timeliness or the industry-specific data requirements for the interchange reimbursement fee (IRF)
associated with the requested CPS program receive a fee change to the next best rate that can be
applied. The RA is updated to reflect the rate at which the transaction was settled. The requested
payment service field is not updated.
For specific national-market CPS information about fee changing circumstances and procedures,
clients can contact their Visa representatives.

CPS/POS Ineligible Transactions

Ineligible Brazil national-market Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS transactions are those not
specifically identified as CPS/Retail purchases including those for petrol and restaurant purchases.
Ineligible transactions include cash disbursements and quasi-cash transactions. Credit vouchers are
considered to be eligible transactions.

CPS/POS Amount Tolerance

Authorizations initiated by certain merchants, such as hotels and car rental companies, contain
amounts that may vary significantly from the final transaction amounts. A transaction that fails to
meet the amount tolerance edits is reclassified or is returned. The following table identifies the
Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS amount tolerances for Brazil.

CPS/POS Program Amount Tolerance

Brazil (through October 2007)

CPS/Retail, including Petrol Clearing amount must equal the authorization amount.

CPS/Retail, Restaurant Clearing amount must be equal to or no greater than 20% of the authori­
zation amount.

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Note:
After October 2007, Brazil eliminated CPS fees but retained CPS lifecycle processing.

CPS/POS Program Clearing Times

Each Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS program has clearing times between the transaction date
and the BASE II central processing date (CPD).
This table lists the clearing times for specific CPS programs.

Custom Payment Service National Market Clearing Times

Brazil (through 10/07)

CPS/Retail Credit Card 2 days (retail, petrol, restaurant)

1
CPS/Card Not Present Not Applicable

1 Clearing timeframe measured from the date of goods sipment, checkout, or return date, as opposed to the authorization date.

In calculating clearing times, the transaction date, BASE II CPD, Sundays, and specific holidays are not
included. Holidays depend on the national market.

CPS Qualification Schedules

Refer to the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Services Rules for processing timeframes between
transaction dates and clearing central processing dates for the Custom Payment Service (CPS). Also
refer to the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Services Rules for holidays and for other days that
may be excluded from the clearing time calculations.

CPS Chargeback Reduction Service

A chargeback is a transaction that an issuer returns to an acquirer. An acquirer can accept financial
liability for the transaction, or can re-present the transaction. The Chargeback Reduction Service
(CRS) is designed to reduce client costs associated with dispute processing.

CPS Authorization-Related Chargeback Protection

Qualified Custom Payment Service (CPS) transactions are stored in a history database and are
systematically protected by the Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) from invalid authorization-
related chargebacks.
These chargebacks fall into eight categories based on the authorization characteristics and the
merchant category of the original purchase transactions (travel and entertainment [T&E] or non-
T&E). CRS determines which category of protection a CPS transaction receives by using the ACI, the
RPS, and the merchant category code (MCC).

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CRS Life-Cycle Control

BASE II provides Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) lifecycle control for all Brazil domestic purchase
transactions. All purchase exception transactions (and the associated RFCs) are suspended for one
settlement cycle. During this suspension, the exception transaction is checked against the history of
the transaction to ensure that processing rules for the sequence of the transaction have been
followed, and to determine whether the exception transaction complies with the Visa Core Rules and
Visa Product and Services Rules for the different regions.

CPS/POS Benefits
Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS helps clients to reduce fraud and exception item processing
costs.
For acquirers, CPS protects against authorization-related chargebacks by requiring the authorization
request to contain certain key information that might not otherwise be present to provide a more
complete picture of the transaction conditions and to help validate cardholder authenticity.
For issuers, CPS increases risk control and improves account balance management. Issuers can
accurately match a transaction's clearing and authorization messages using a unique transaction
identifier (TID) that is assigned by the Visa Integrated Payment (V.I.P.) System.

CPS/POS Process Flow

Custom Payment Service (CPS) POS acquirers must submit authorization messages through the V.I.P.
system and the clearing transaction through the BASE II System.
The Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS process flow:
1. The acquirer submits an authorization request with an authorization characteristics indicator
(ACI) to indicate that this is a CPS transaction.
2. The V.I.P. System ensures that the transaction meets the CPS/POS criteria and evaluates the
characteristics of the request, then replaces the value of the ACI to reflect the authorization
characteristics of the transaction.
l V.I.P. generates a unique transaction identifier (TID) and passes it to the issuer if the
issuer is certified and has chosen to receive it. VisaNet may also pass the ACI.
3. The issuer approves the transaction, sends the transaction back to the V.I.P. System with the
authorization response code, and optionally returns the ACI and the TID.
4. The V.I.P. System generates a validation code based on key authorization fields. VisaNet
forwards the validation code with the ACI, the TID, and the authorization response code to
the acquirer.

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5. The acquirer submits a clearing message to BASE II with a value in the Requested Payment
Service (RPS) field, which specifies the CPS program desired. The clearing transaction also
contains the ACI, the TID, and the validation code received from V.I.P. with the authorization
response.
6. BASE II validates that the key authorization fields in the clearing transaction match those
used in the authorization message by recalculating the validation code. BASE II applies edits
to ensure that the transaction qualifies for the requested CPS program.
The issuer uses the TID to match the clearing transaction to the authorization.

CPS/POS Requirements
Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS testing requirements are generally the same for the different
national markets. Clients can contact their Visa representatives to make arrangements for testing.
CPS sets clearing data requirements common to all CPS/POS transactions. Additional requirements
specific to each CPS/POS program are listed in the section describing that particular program.
All clients in a CPS country must participate in CPS.
All Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS transactions must have:
l A valid reimbursement attribute (RA) for the requested CPS/POS program.
l Valid combinations of the following for CPS/POS programs:
n Requested payment service (RPS) field and authorization characteristics indicator (ACI)
n Requested payment service (RPS) field and cardholder ID method
n Requested payment service (RPS) field, authorization characteristics indicator (ACI), POS
entry mode code, and reimbursement attribute (RA)
n Requested payment service (RPS), authorization characteristics indicator (ACI), and
transaction code qualifier (TCQ)

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CPS/POS Data Element Values

This table lists the valid data element combinations for the Brazil Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS
markets.

Requested Payment Service Authorization Character­

(RPS) istics Indicator (ACI)
Reimbursement Cardholder I.D.
Code Definition Code Definition Attribute Method

Brazil

A CPS/Retail, A Card present A 1

including Petrol
E Card present with A 1
merchant name and
location data

B CPS/Retail— A Card present A 1

Restaurant
E Card present with A 1
merchant name and
location data

CPS/POS Validation Code Protected Fields

For approved transactions, V.I.P. computes a validation code using key elements in the authorization
message. The values of the protected data fields' key elements must be submitted unchanged from
authorization through clearing. If any values are changed from authorization through clearing, the
transaction is reclassified to a non-Custom Payment Service (CPS) transaction or is returned.
This table lists the protected fields.

V.I.P. System Field BASE II Field (Definition)

2 Account Number

4 Authorized Amount

18 Merchant Category Code

22 (positions 1–2) POS Entry Mode

38 Authorization Code

39 Authorization Response Code

49 Authorization Currency Code

1
61.1 Other Amount, Transaction, Cashback

62.1 Authorization Characteristics Indicator

62.2 Transaction Identifier

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V.I.P. System Field BASE II Field (Definition)

62.4 Market-Specific Authorization Data Indicator

62.23 Product ID

1 If the specified subfield is not present, V.I.P. substitutes the default value, which must be provided in the clearing transaction sent
to BASE II.

CPS/POS Key Data Requirements

In addition to meeting the common Custom Payment Service (CPS)/POS data requirements, a
transaction in the Brazil national market must also meet the key data requirements in this table to
qualify for the CPS/Retail program and for its associated rate.

Data Element BASE II Field Value

Merchant Category Code (MCC) TCR 0, positions 133–136 Must be same as in authorization.

POS Entry Mode TCR 0, positions 162–163 90, 05

Authorization Characteristics TCR 0, position 151 A or E

Indicator (ACI)

Transaction Code Qualifier (TCQ) All TCRs, position 3 0

Requested Payment Service (RPS) TCR 0, position 145 A for Retail including Petrol
B for Restaurant
1
Authorization Date TCR 5, positions 5–19 In transaction identifier

Purchase Date TCR 0, positions 58–61 Within 1 day of authorization date

Cardholder ID Method TCR 0, position 160 1

Central Processing Date (CPD) TCR 0, positions 164–167 Within 2 days of purchase date
only through 10/07

Reimbursement Attribute (RA) TCR 0, position 168 A

only through 10/07

Card Acceptor ID TCR 1, positions 81–95 Must not be spaces or zeros.

Authorization Source Code TCR 1, Position 128 Must not be a space.

Transaction Identifier TCR 5, positions 5–19 Must not be zeros.

Authorized Amount TCR 5, Positions 20–31 Must not be zeros

Authorization Currency Code TCR 5, positions 32–34 Must be the same as Source Currency
Code.

POS Terminal Capability TCR 0, position 158 2–5, 8, 9

Validation Code TCR 5, positions 37–40 Must not be spaces.

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1 Embedded in the transaction identifier.

CPS/POS Documentation
The following documentation is available:
l BASE II Clearing Data Codes
l V.I.P System BASE I Processing Specifications
l VisaNet Authorization-Only Online Messages Technical Specifications
l PaymentService 2000 Technical Specifications—Brazil (DS-941075)
l U.S. Interchange Reimbursement Fee (IRF) Rate Qualification Guide
l Visa International VisaNet Merchant Data Standards Handbook

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Chapter 14
Chargeback Reduction Service

The VisaNet Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) is a worldwide service designed to reduce client
costs associated with dispute processing. As part of BASE II Clearing, this service accesses
information that is readily available to Visa, yet time consuming for clients to research.

CRS Overview
Chargebacks are transactions issuers return through interchange to acquirers. A chargeback results
when the presentment of a sales draft, cash advance, debit, or credit transaction is disputed by the
customer or examined by the issuer and found to be improper.
Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) is a function of BASE II Clearing and is mandatory for all Visa
clients.

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CRS Description
Original purchase and cash transactions entered into interchange through the Edit Package at the
acquirer’s processing center are not affected by the service until received at the VisaNet Interchange
Center (VIC). Invalid drafts are returned to the acquirer’s processing center, lessening chargebacks.
At the issuer’s processing center, chargeback transactions pass through Chargeback Reduction
Service (CRS) validation during Edit Package processing to ensure that they reflect the processing
rules governing minimum amounts, client message text, chargeback reason codes, and number of
presentments. Rejected transactions are prevented from entering into BASE II interchange at the VIC.
At the VIC, CRS evaluates sales drafts and chargebacks and inserts status indicators for the validation
process. Availability of this information helps issuers and acquirers to substantially reduce research
time and potential chargebacks.

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CRS Status Indicators

These Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) status indicators are added to the record under specific
conditions.
l Floor Limit Indicator—The transaction was above or below the merchant’s floor limit for the
date of the purchase according to the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Services Rules.
CRS validates the following transaction elements to determine the floor limit:
n Account type
n Mail/telephone indicator
n Merchant location
n Merchant category code
n Reimbursement fee category
n Special condition indicator
n CHIP/non CHIP transactions
n Transaction date
When the transaction is validated at the VisaNet Interchange Center (VIC), the VIC inserts the
appropriate code in TCR 0, field position 24, Floor Limit Indicator.
l CRB/Exception File Indicator—The account number on the card used in the transaction was
listed in the Card Recovery Bulletin (for international transactions) or Exception File (for U.S.
transactions) for the merchant’s region on the date of the transaction. CRS evaluates the
following transaction elements to determine the account status on the Visa card pickup
bulletin:
n Account number
n Mail/telephone indicator
n Merchant location
n Transaction date
n Authorization code
n Floor limit indicator
When the transaction is validated at the VIC, the VIC inserts the appropriate code in TCR 0,
field position 25, CRB/Exception File Indicator.
l PCAS Indicator—The transaction’s authorization code was generated during Visa stand-in
authorization (STIP—Stand-In Processor) using the Positive Cardholder Authorization Service
(PCAS). CRS evaluates the following elements to determine the authorization status:
n Account number
n Authorization code
n Transaction date
When the transaction is validated at the VIC, the VIC inserts the appropriate code in TCR 0,
field position 26, PCAS Indicator.
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CRS validation does not take place if any data element needed to determine the status of the floor
limit, Visa card pickup bulletin, or authorization code is missing from the transaction. BASE II Clearing
applies the “validation not performed or insufficient information” indicator code to the transaction.
Note:
The floor limit, bulletin, and authorization indicators edits apply only to original sales drafts,
not their second presentments.

CRS Sales Draft Validation

Original purchase and cash draft transactions entered into interchange at the acquirer’s processing
center are validated by Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) during BASE II processing.
Original purchase and cash draft transactions are returned to the acquirer when all three of these
conditions are met.
l The account number is listed in the merchant’s Card Recovery Bulletin (CRB) or, for U.S.
merchants, the BASE I exception file, as of 4:00 GMT on the date prior to the transaction.
l The transaction amount is equal to or below the merchant floor limit.
l No authorization code is present.

CRS Chargeback Validation

Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) chargeback transactions are validated through outgoing Edit
Package processing and BASE II processing at Visa.
Chargeback transactions are first validated at the issuer’s processing center. If a chargeback fails
certain Edit Package edits, the chargeback is rejected; the issuer must resolve the problem before the
transaction can be a part of outgoing interchange.
Chargebacks included in outgoing interchange are validated at Visa by CRS. CRS forwards valid
chargebacks to acquirers.

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CRS Edit Package Edits

Edit Package validation of Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) chargebacks is based on these edits.
l Client message text—Transactions with certain T&E chargeback reason codes are rejected if
there is nothing in the client message text field.
l Allowable chargeback reason codes—Chargebacks not having a reason code compatible
with the transaction’s merchant category code are rejected. This applies to Express Payment
Service (EPS), Automatic Teller machine (ATM), and T&E transactions. For example, an
international ATM transaction cannot be returned to the issuer with a chargeback reason
code 75 (inadequate message content).
l Number of presentments—BASE II rejects certain chargebacks if the number of
chargebacks allowed has been exceeded. Acquirers are limited to two presentments including
the original, and issuers are limited to one chargeback.

CRS VIC Edits

Chargeback transactions are analyzed again during BASE II processing at the VisaNet Interchange
Center (VIC) for authorization-related data.
Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) returns invalid chargebacks to issuers under these conditions:
l Chargeback reason code 72—The transaction was above the merchant floor limit, but the
chargeback reason code indicated that the transaction was below the floor limit; or the
reason code indicated that the transaction exceeds the floor limit when the transaction
amount is actually under the merchant floor limit. (CRS allows a plus or minus 20% tolerance
level, above or below the floor limit, before returning the transaction.)
l Chargeback reason code 70—The cardholder account number was not listed in the CRB or
Exception File for the merchant’s region on the date of the transaction, but the chargeback
reason code indicates that it was listed. This is based on the CRB/Exception File history file
that is maintained at each VIC.
l Invalid reason code—A chargeback of an ATM transaction contained an invalid reason code.

CRS Benefits
Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS) provides many benefits to acquirers and issuers in handliing
chargebacks.
Acquirer Benefits
With VisaNet Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS), acquirers receive additional information through
BASE II to validate chargebacks and Request for Copy (RFC) service messages sent by issuers.
The service automatically returns some invalid, authorization-related chargebacks to issuers on
behalf of acquirers, thus eliminating the acquirer’s research and processing time for these
chargebacks.

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Issuer Benefits
With VisaNet Chargeback Reduction Service (CRS), issuers receive additional information through
BASE II to assist in making chargeback decisions. With this data, issuers are able to prevent
chargebacks, as well as make better-informed chargeback and representment decisions with lower
research costs.
The service automatically returns some invalid, authorization-related sales drafts to acquirers on
behalf of issuers, thus eliminating the issuer’s research and processing time for these sales drafts.

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Fraud Reporting System

BASE II provides the Fraud Reporting System (FRS) to help clients report, track, and analyze
fraudulent transactions.

FRS Overview
Fraud Reporting System (FRS) consolidates fraud information, helping clients detect fraud patterns
and reduce losses. Participation in FRS is mandatory for issuers and for acquirers.
Fraud reporting by individual clients protects all clients from excessive losses due to fraudulent
transactions. Visa consolidates worldwide fraud information to detect fraud patterns and develop
new countermeasure programs. Visa works with clients, law enforcement agencies, and government
agencies to investigate and curtail fraud sources.
Clients can use Visa Resolve Online (VROL) to report fraudulent transactions to FRS. See Visa Resolve
Online Member Implementation Guide.
Visa offices use fraud information for:
l Fraud trend analysis.
l International Risk Management (IRM) risk program performance tracking.
l Management fraud activity and fraud summary reports.

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l Client reporting compliance monitoring.

l IRM program information support.
l Client data and information queries.
l Region-specific reports distributed to clients.
Transaction data contained on the Visa fraud master file also supports essential Risk Management
programs, including:
l Merchant Fraud Performance (MFP)
l Visa Issuer Fraud Detection (VIFD)
l High-Risk File Access/Common Data Infrastructure (CDI)
Clients ensure eligibility for maximum chargeback rights by correctly reporting fraud transactions. It
is important that clients report fraud accurately and comprehensively to maximize client protection
from fraudulent losses.

FRS Description
The Fraud Reporting System (FRS) offers clients a convenient, electronic way to report and monitor
fraud activity.
Fraud occurs when an individual who is not the cardholder or designee uses a card or its account
number to obtain goods or services without the cardholder’s consent. Fraud also occurs when a card
is obtained through misrepresentation of identification or financial status.
The Fraud Advice transaction (TC 40) transmits information about fraudulent transactions to and
from clients.
The TC 40 record comprises four transaction component records (TCRs). Use of TCRs 0, 1, 2, and 3
depends on fraud reporting requirements based on specific programs, regional initiatives, or both.

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Report New Fraud Transactions

Confirmed fraud transactions must be reported for on-us, domestic, and international transactions.
Fraud reporting is accomplished through these steps.
1. Gather the required fraud advice data as specified by the specific program or regional fraud
reporting requirements.
l Reporting of specific fraud advice information is required by some Visa programs, by
regional directive, or both.
l Some Visa regions require mandatory reporting of specific fraud advice fields.
2. Submit the completed fraud advice to Visa using the appropriate VisaNet system:
l BASE II
l V.I.P.
l Visa Resolve Online (VROL)
3. Verify fraud reporting on the daily or weekly Fraud Activity Reports to determine if the
reported transaction was:
l Accepted.
l Accepted but requires additional verification or correction and resubmission.
l Rejected and requires correction and resubmission.
Clients must electronically report all fraud to Visa.

FRS Notification Code Assignment

The Notification Code (NC) field in the fraud advice record in the Fraud Reporting System (FRS) is
used to define whether the transaction should be added (NC 1 and NC 2), changed (NC 3), deleted
(NC 4), or reactivated (NC 5).

FRS Account Sequence Number Assignment

Fraud transaction Account Sequence Numbers can be assigned by Visa or by the client. A maximum
of 1000 transactions can be reported on a given account through the Fraud Reporting System (FRS).
If the client assigns its Account Sequence Numbers, transactions should be assigned in consecutive
order as received, beginning with 001. Assigning Account Sequence Numbers in a different (or
random) order may make the level of fraud for a given merchant or cardholder appear much higher
than it actually is on various Risk Management programs and reports. It may also be difficult to keep
track of nonsequentially assigned transactions from both a case management and maintenance
basis.

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FRS Fraud Investigation Status

Some clients modify the merchant name field in the Fraud Reporting System (FRS) with special codes
or symbols to flag fraud transactions for a particular status (for example, charged back, charged off,
or investigative results). This action changes the merchant name and significantly interferes with the
identification process of the various Visa Risk Management programs, which in turn may negatively
affect client chargeback rights.

FRS Reporting Timeframes

Fraud advice records are added to the Visa Fraud Master File on a daily basis and assigned a posting
date on the day they are processed by the Fraud Reporting System (FRS). The Posting Date is used to
determine how many days from the Transaction Date the transaction is being reported and whether
the fraud transaction meets specific reporting timeframes.
Transactions reported after 90 days (but less than 180 days) from the Transaction Date are accepted
and added to the Visa Fraud Master File. The transaction is also flagged as late. On the Fraud Activity
Report Warning Activity, a Warning Status Code of W20—Purchase Date appears with the record.
Note:
The reporting timeframe is 60 days in the AP region.
Reporting a transaction late may affect the eligibility of the transaction for acceptance by various
Visa programs, such as the Merchant Fraud Performance (MFP) program and chargeback rights.
If additions are attempted after 180 days, FRS rejects the transactions with a Reject Status Code R82
—Late Transaction on the Fraud Activity Report Reject Activity.

FRS Transaction Edits

The Fraud Reporting System (FRS) performs all edits on submitted fraud transactions. When adding
or modifying a fraud transaction, the transaction is rejected by Visa if one or more fields contain data
that does not comply with stated fraud advice record data edit requirements or was submitted using
incorrect procedures.
Rejected fraud transactions are not applied to the Fraud Master File but instead are maintained in a
separate file. All rejected fraud transactions must be corrected and resubmitted to Visa by the client.
If reporting errors occur, clients are notified of the specific reporting problems in the daily or weekly
Fraud Activity Warning and Reject Reports.

FRS Reports
Whenever fraud transactions are submitted to the Fraud Reporting System (FRS), fraud reports are
received that verify the status of the client's reporting. The Fraud Activity Reports and Fraud
Summary Reports list reported fraud transactions (additions, changes, deletions, and reactivations)
that were correctly submitted and applied to the Visa Fraud Master File. The reports also list
transactions with data errors, processing errors, or both.

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Reports may be received in one of these frequencies and formats:

l Weekly print-image reports
l Daily print-image reports
l Daily transaction response records
All transactions submitted during a given period are listed on one of the three Fraud Activity Reports
and are summarized on the Fraud Summary Reports. If previously active clients submit no
transactions during a given reporting period, a “null” report is distributed indicating that no fraud
advice activity was received. Clients do not receive any fraud reports during the period.
Reports are available on a daily basis as print-image or transaction response records. Weekly reports
are available as print-image only.
Note:
Issuers will not receive any reports if they have not reported fraud in the last 90 days.

FRS Process Description

Clients are required to report specific information about the transaction in the Fraud Reporting
System (FRS), such as transaction amount and date. Required information is obtained from several
sources, which include the cardholder, the original transaction draft, and the authorization message.

FRS Message Flows

Clients report fraud transactions to V.I.P., which holds the messages until end-of-day processing and
then forwards them to Fraud Reporting System (FRS). Responses to client-reported fraud transactions
are received as incoming transactions and are returned as part of the next BASE II cycle. The
Response Code is a fraud advice field that identifies the type of incoming fraud advice transactions
received by the client.
The format and content of each incoming fraud advice and associated data are based on whether the
Transaction Response Record is a detail or summary record. Detail records are Transaction Confirmed
(TC), Transaction Reject (TR), and Transaction Warning (TW). The summary record is Transaction
Summary (TS).
These types of daily Transaction Response Records (TCRs) for recipients are provided:
l Confirmations (detail records)
l Warnings (detail records)
l Rejections (detail records)
l Summary (one summary record)

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BASE II issuers or acquirers may receive a combination of these options:

l Daily print-image reports (default Asia-Pacific)
l Daily transaction response records
l Weekly print-image reports (default U.S.)
l Monthly print-image reports (default)
l Quarterly print-image reports (default)

FRS Requirements
Participants must be connected to VisaNet to use Fraud Reporting System (FRS) and must be able to
create TC 40 fraud advices.
FRS Testing and Certification
Certification is required in some Visa regions. Visa, however, encourages all participants to be
certified before using the service. Clients can check with their Visa representative for certification
requirements.
The VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS) provides testing and certification assistance
for FRS participants. Clients can contact their Visa representative to make the arrangements.
FRS Service Monitoring
Service (compliance) monitoring applies to FRS; however, the process varies according to region.
Service participants can contact their Visa representative for information about service monitoring.
FRS Planning and Implementation
Visa issuers and acquirers must comply with the fraud reporting rules as defined in the Visa Core
Rules and Visa Product and Services Rules.

FRS Documentation
The following documentation is available:
l Fraud Reporting System (FRS) User's Guide
l Member Fraud Control Manual
l Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Services Rules

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Chapter 16
Issuers' Clearinghouse Service

Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) is a risk management tool that can assist bankcard issuers in
reducing application and identity fraud and credit losses. Visa ICS provides significant value over
credit bureau data and other application risk management tools.

ICS Overview
Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) provides information that issuers use to identify fraudulent
or questionable bankcard applications. The system also responds to queries on the creditworthiness
of current cardholders and allows issuers to add reports of fraud and unauthorized use to the ICS
database. Visa ICS reporting is required for all issuers.
Visa ICS is a component of Visa Advanced ID Solutions, a set of application risk tools that also
includes:
l ID Analytics ID Score Plus
l Fraud Intelligence by eFunds
l Debit Report by eFunds
Visa ICS is used by issuer management, supervisory, and technical personnel in the U.S.

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The objective of the service is to provide the issuer with incremental data to increase profits by
preventing and reducing losses due to credit and fraud risks. ICS resources include:
l Information about application activity and fraudulent card use reported by all issuers.
l Alerts identifying invalid or questionable data.
l Bankruptcy alerts for new applicants.
l Retroactive alerts that are generated when data from a previously submitted transaction
matches a new bankruptcy filing or meets the thresholds for excessive application, fraud, or
unauthorized use activity.
l Statistics for developing fraud-loss control programs through the identification of fraudulent
activity patterns.
Visa ICS is part of a broader set of fraud mitigation tools called Visa Advanced ID Solutions and the
Visa Advanced ID Suite (VAIS) that enhances risk protection by providing broader risk coverage. As
part of VAIS, Visa ICS has partnered with eFunds Corporation to provide Fraud Intelligence™ by
eFunds, a tool that allows Visa clients access to Demand Deposit Account (DDA) fraud information
including deposit account fraud closures associated with social security numbers within the past five
years, addresses within the past five years, and social security numbers within the past five years
and/or associated with an address within the past 180 days.

ICS Description
Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) is a nationwide, centralized, shared database that contains
information on Visa and MasterCard credit card applicants, incidents of fraud, unauthorized use,
bankruptcy filings and other questionable data. The database was jointly developed by Visa U.S.A.
and MasterCard International, Inc. with guidance from U.S. issuers.

ICS Database
The Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) database is a collection of different databases
containing information on Visa and MasterCard applicants nationwide.
A separate database stores information on each of the three data elements tracked by ICS—Social
Security Numbers (SSNs), addresses, and telephone numbers. The system also includes a history
database that counts the number of times each of these data elements appears on Visa and
MasterCard credit card applications. Databases that track documented fraud reports and bankruptcy
petitions are also included in the history database.

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The database is compiled from a number of nationwide sources daily. Specific components of the
data collection and updating process involve issuers, third-party sources, and Bankruptcy Retrieval
Services.
l Visa ICS Issuer Data—Current data in Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) on credit card
applications comes from issuers that are required to report the Name, SSN, address, and
telephone number for all of their credit card applications, including applications that are
declined and all unauthorized use or fraud at the account level with and without a loss.
l Visa ICS Third-Party Sources—The Social Security Administration supplies Visa Issuers’
Clearinghouse Service (ICS) with files on valid and invalid SSNs. These files contain
information about SSNs of deceased persons and currently unassigned numbers. The U.S.
Postal Service and other data sources provide information on valid and questionable
addresses and telephone numbers.
l Visa ICS Bankruptcy Retrieval Services—The Bankruptcy Retrieval Services (BRS) sends Visa
Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) information about every bankruptcy petition filed in the
United States. This information is collected daily from most U.S. courts.

ICS Database Access

Issuers access the Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) database through a connection to the
VisaNet BASE II System. Issuers have direct access as a BASE II endpoint or through a third-party
processor acting as a BASE II endpoint.
Other options are available through a dedicated connection to the ICS processor. For other options,
contact [email protected].

ICS Transactions
The process of sending an application, inquiry, or fraud report to Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service
(ICS) is generally referred to as an “add transaction.”
This table shows the five basic types of add transactions.

Transaction Type Purpose

Add Application Notify ICS of approved or pending bankcard application.

Add Decline Notify ICS of a declined bankcard application.

Add Inquiry Inquire about a current cardholder or applicant for a debit card account.

Add Fraud Report a fraudulent application or other incident of fraud or unauthorized use.

Debit Inquiry Inquire about an applicant for a debit card account.

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Transaction Type Purpose

Non-Bankcard Inquiry Inquiry about an applicant for non-bankcard applicants.

Add Delete Delete a transaction previously reported in error.

Submit an add transaction to:

l Report a consumer application for a credit card, including applications that are declined.
l Report fraudulent or unauthorized use of a credit card.
l Report a suspicious application or a fraudulent application.
l Make a debit card or non-bankcard application inquiry.
l Investigate a retroactive alert or request information about a current cardholder or applicant.
Inquiries of this kind are often made when evaluating a current cardholder’s request for a
credit limit increase or a replacement credit card.
l Delete an application or a fraud report incorrectly reported to ICS.

ICS Process Flow

Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) processes issuer transaction files by verifying the transaction
files and editing, comparing, and counting the data.
The flow of information from issuers and third-party sources through ICS and the BASE II System and
back to issuers is illustrated in this figure.

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ICS Process Flow

Issuer

Transactions

Responses
BASE II BASE II
Endpoint/ Clearing &
Processor Settelement

Third-Party
Source

Direct
Dedicated
ICS Database Client
Files Connections

ICS Issuer Transaction File Verification

When a transaction is sent to Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS), the system first checks to
make sure that all required data elements are present.

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ICS verifies issuer transaction files by:

l Recording the date and time of receipt by ICS. This date does not necessarily match the entry
date of the file.
The entry date is the date of input, in Julian format (YYDDD), that identifies the creation date
of the transaction file record.
l Verifying that the transaction is received from a validated issuer by checking the issuer Bank
Identification Number (issuing BIN).
Issuers are identified by a unique six-digit issuing identifier assigned by Visa. When an issuer
uses another party for settlement processing, or when an issuer uses a data processor, the
issuing BIN in ICS transactions identifies the issuer, not the data processor.
l Verifying that the locator number is unique for each transaction by issuing BIN by day.
This issuer-assigned number contains up to 11 digits and must be unique for a given date
and issuing BIN. Along with the issuing BIN and date, this number identifies ICS records,
controls information retrieval and is required for processing add deletes. (Issuers may find it
helpful to assign a locator number that corresponds to the application or account number of
the original transaction submitted.)
The entry date, issuing BIN, and locator number together form a unique access reference number
that identifies every record on file at ICS. Each issuer transaction has an access reference number
used to retrieve it from the ICS/BNS database.

ICS Invalid Responses

Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) recognizes two types of invalid response transactions: severe
invalids and invalid responses.
Severe invalids are transactions that cannot be processed because the required record format or
input is incorrect. The response is also invalid if it contains unmatched or missing data. This type of
invalid response alerts the issuer to incorrect address, phone, zip code, or social security numbers.
Invalid responses indicate that Visa ICS cannot validate the data because of incorrect or missing data.
They are flagged by ICS with invalid codes and returned to the issuer upon request. Invalids can be
turned off in Member Options. Invalids are not processed or added to the database.
See Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service Quick Reference.

ICS Edit Data

Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) only requires one valid element of social security number,
address, or phone to process any transaction. Issuers are encouraged to send all data.
ICS processes all valid information. For example, if the SSN is invalid, the address and telephone
number is processed normally and increment the database.

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ICS Data Comparison

Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) compares each SSN, address, and telephone number against
the database and Member Options to determine if any information on the application is
questionable or is associated with previous fraudulent activity or a bankruptcy petition.
Data elements on add applications and add declines are also counted and added to the ICS history
file to help all issuers monitor excessive application activity. An overview of ICS database files is
shown in the figure.

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ICS Database Files

ICS Database

Social Address
Security Files
Number Files

Telephone History
Files Files

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The Social Security Number File

The Social Security Number file contains the following information:
l Social security numbers entered by issuers.
l Valid SSN ranges and combinations from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and a list of
SSNs for deceased persons along with supplemental information received from law
enforcement.
Address Files
The Address files contain a Delivery Sequency File (DSF). The DSF is a computerized file that contains
all delivery point addresses serviced by the USPS, with the exception of general delivery. DSF
provides the following:
l Address validation
l Address standardization
l ZIP+4 validation
l Detection of potentially undeliverable addresses for reasons other than a change of address
(for example vacant lots).
l Delivery-type code that indicates business or residential
l Seasonal delivery information
Home Telephone Number Files
The Home Telephone Number files contain the following information:
l Telephone numbers entered by issuers.
l Valid telephone area codes and valid telephone prefixes.
l Infobase questionable data files identify suspect telephone numbers. An example of
questionable data would be when an applicant uses a telephone number of a penal
institution, hospital, or hotel.
History Files
The SSN, address, and home telephone number are kept on file for each application and inquiry that
ICS processes. Fraud History files are also maintained.
Fraud History Files
ICS Fraud History files contain claims of fraudulent use, Visa and MasterCard account numbers, arrest
status information, and case numbers.

ICS Data Counts

Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) uses counts to determine when issuers must be alerted to
excessive activity.
As SSNs, addresses, and home telephone numbers are placed on file, Visa ICS counts the occurrences
of each data element. For example, an SSN count of “1” means that the number was reported once

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to ICS. A count of “2” means that the number was reported twice, either by the same issuer or by two
different issuers. Similar counts are kept for address and telephone number occurrences.
ICS monitors the number of thresholds for each data element to determine how to respond to a
transaction. ICS is not a relational database. Each data element is matched individually. This allows
issuers to see patterns that might not be visible at nationwide credit bureaus. For instance, an alert
returned with a count of 1 tied to the applicant’s social security number in the last 30 days and a
count of 30 triggered by the address in the last 30 days may indicate a mail drop used by a fraud
ring..
The counts and record data are retained by ICS from one or four years depending on type of activity:
l Application data is retained for one year.
l Fraudulent applications and unauthorized use reports are retained for up to four years
depending on the type of unauthorized use.

ICS Outputs
After processing issuer transactions, Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) returns a response.
An overview of ICS reporting is shown in the ICS Reporting figure.

ICS Reporting

Issuer Issuer
Application Data Application Data
Issuer ICS ICS Reports
Database
Files Solicited
Reports
Result from
Issuer
Transaction

ICS Solicited Alerts

ICS sends these response transactions:
l Bankruptcy Alert—Informs issuers that the SSN submitted on an application or inquiry
transaction was used in a bankruptcy filing..
l Issuer Alert—Advises issuers that application or unauthorized use activity has exceeded
either issuer-specified Member Options, thresholds, or questionable data files.

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l Invalid Response—Indicates that one or more issuer transaction data elements are invalid
due to an issuer input error. ICS returns the transaction with related invalid codes.
l Confirmation—Indicates that all issuer transaction data elements are valid, none of the
information triggered an alert, and the transaction was successfully processed. A
confirmation is sent only if the issuer elects to receive Confirmation reports.

ICS Unsolicited Alerts

A Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) Retroactive Alert indicates that activity or unauthorized
use on one or more data elements from a previously submitted application equals or exceeds the
issuer’s activity on velocity, bankruptcy, or unauthorized use thresholds.
Note:
Alerts of fraudulent activity do not imply that the applicant or cardholder is responsible; in
most cases, the applicant is the victim of such use. Issuers must carefully verify information
related to certain types or patterns of use. For example, ICS flags addresses, telephone
numbers, and SSNs used in bankcard applications where cards were previously reported as
not received, or where an issuer-specified number of cards were reported lost or stolen, and
subsequently used.

Using ICS Output

Issuers may use Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS) to evaluate account acquisitions, debit
inquiries, collections, credit limit reviews, and fraud investigations.
Account Acquisition
ICS responses alert issuers to excessive credit card applications and instances of fraudulent use
associated with an SSN, address, or home telephone number. Bankruptcy alerts advise issuers about
consumer bankruptcy filings associated with an SSN. This information may be used to assess risks
associated with new applications. ICS usually has bankruptcy filing data earlier than the nationwide
credit reporting agencies.
Debit Inquiries and Non–Bankcard Inquiries
ICS responses alert issuers to excessive credit card applications and instances of fraudulent use
associated with an SSN, address, or home telephone number.
Collection
Collection officers can use ICS for ad hoc inquiries. ICS also alerts issuers to accounts with problem
histories. For example, an address associated with excessive applications may indicate a potential for
credit abuse. Issuers may also be alerted to monitor excessive bankcard activity for a consumer who
recently filed for bankruptcy. Issuers may use this information to assess risks and determine how
aggressively to pursue collections.
Credit Limit Review
ICS responses help issuers determine whether to reissue cards or to increase credit limits. For
example, ICS identifies excessive bankcard applications, which may indicate that a cardholder is
overextended. ICS also provides information on fraudulent application activity.

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Fraud Investigation
ICS responses help issuers identify possible patterns of fraudulent card use. For example, the issuer
may want to question lost and stolen card claims if the cardholder has a history of reporting other
issuers’ cards as lost or stolen. This information may alert an issuer to investigate and prosecute
cases of fraud. ICS may reduce losses by alerting issuers to potential problems.

ICS Requirements
Issuers can use the Options Selection Form to customize Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service (ICS)
services, or accept ICS default services, thresholds, and time parameters. Options used to report to
ICS may be set differently for each issuing BIN, market segment, or both.
An Options Selection Form is available from Visa Customer Service representatives. The form can be
completed before implementing ICS to set options or after implementing to change options. Issuers
that do not select options prior to implementation will receive the default values.
Note:
Issuers must check with their third-party processor’s representative before selecting their ICS
options to ensure that each option is supported by the processor. New issuers may need to
allow three to four months to prepare for implementation of ICS.

ICS Legal Responsibilities

Under Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements, issuers may access Visa Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service
(ICS) for information or for making inquiries concerning only their own cardholders or applicants to
evaluate a cardholder’s continuing creditworthiness. Issuers must not base credit decisions solely on
ICS responses. Issuers must decide whether and how to use the information to justify conducting an
investigation.
Note:
Issuers may not use ICS information or responses to develop solicitation lists.

ICS Documentation
The following documentation is available:
l Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service User’s Manual
l Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service User’s Training Guide
l Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service Description
l Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service Prescreen Handbook
l Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service ICSDirect User’s Guide

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l Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service ICSDirect Administrator’s Guide

l Issuers’ Clearinghouse Service Quick Reference Guide

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Chapter 17
Cross-Border Acquiring Service

The Cross-Border Acquiring Service allows acquirers to expand their markets outside their own
countries while receiving the benefits of domestic interchange rates except where local laws or Visa
regulations prohibit the practice.

BASE II Cross-Border Acquiring

Service Overview
The Cross-Border Acquiring Service allows acquirers to expand their markets outside their own
countries while receiving the benefits of domestic interchange rates except where local laws or Visa
regulations prohibit the practice.
For example, a cardholder in country X buys a product or service from a merchant in country X,
whose processor is located in country Y. The merchant’s bank (or processor) participates in the Cross-
Border Acquiring service and as a consequence abides by domestic processing rules and pays the
domestic interchange rate in country Y instead of the international interchange rate.

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Cross-Border Acquiring Service

Participants in the Cross-Border Acquiring Service include:

l Acquirers within the European Union (Europe region).
l Merchants located in the Canada region may have U.S. region acquirer/processor cross-
border acquirer transactions if they are:
n Mail/Phone Order Transactions (including computer) initiated by U.S. cardholders and
advertised and cleared in U.S. dollars.
l Merchants located in the U.S. region may have Canada region acquirer/processor cross-
border acquirer transactions if they are:
n Mail/Phone Order Transactions (including computer) initiated by Canadian cardholders
and advertised and cleared in Canadian dollars.
l International Airlines.
l Merchant outlet is a U.S. military base, embassy, or consulate on foreign territory.
l Europe region acquirers who cross-border acquire within the CEMEA region.
l CEMEA region acquirers who cross-border acquire within the Europe region.
l AP region acquirers who cross-border acquire within the AP region.

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Chapter 18
Cross-Border Issuing Service

Cross-Border Issuing permits issuers to use a single new or existing Visa issuing BIN or an account
range within an issuing BIN to issue cards in one or more countries or currencies. Clients have the
option to license an issuing BIN to be used for Cross-Border Issuing or to use an existing issuing BIN.
Account ranges from the Cross-Border Visa issuing BIN can be set up to issue cards in different
countries.

BASE II Cross-Border Issuing Service

Overview
Cross-Border Issuing permits BASE I and BASE II issuers to use a single issuing BIN to issue cards in
multiple countries and currencies. BASE I and BASE II issuers may participate in the Cross-Border
Issuing Service.

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Cross-Border Issuing Service

BASE II Cross-Border Issuing Service

Description
Cross-Border Issuing supports cards in all regions. Clients license issuing BINs to issue cards in
another country. A single issuing BIN can be used to issue cards in multiple countries.
Cross-Border Issuing cards maintain the features of existing card products and inherit the properties
of those products. The major features of Cross-Border Issuing cards are:
l Issuance of the cards in multiple countries and currencies under a single issuing BIN.
l Identification of the country of issuance at the account range level instead of at the issuing
BIN level.
l Application of fees, charges, and dispute rules according to the country in which the cards
are issued.
Clients may participate in the Cross-Border Issuing Service by using one of these methods:
l Lead Bank and Partner Bank Cross-Border card issuance
l Direct Cross-Border card issuance

BASE II Cross-Border Card Issuing Bank

Partnerships
A bank that does not have a subsidiary or an affiliate in a foreign country may choose to partner with
a bank in that country to issue Cross-Border cards. The Lead Bank identifies the Partner Bank and
initiates the partnership agreement. Visa International's Multinational Program Administrator office
may assist in identifying a Partner Bank, providing sample contracts, and resolving issues related to
multinational issuing.
Once a Cross-Border Issuing agreement is in place, the Lead Bank identifies an issuing BIN and an
account range within that issuing BIN. The Lead Bank requests its Visa region to point that account
range to the Partner Bank's issuing identifier for processing.
The Partner Bank is responsible for:
l Card issuance
l Authorization
l Cardholder billing
l Cardholder service
l Settlement
The primary financial liability resides with the Partner Bank. In accordance with Visa Core Rules and
Visa Product and Services Rules, the issuing BIN licensee has the ultimate financial responsibility.

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BASE II Direct Cross-Border Card lssuing

With Direct Cross-Border Issuing, a bank may choose to issue cards across borders in multiple
countries and in multiple currencies, without a relationship with a Partner Bank.
These responsibilities remain with the issuer:
l Authorization
l Card issuance
l Cardholder billing
l Cardholder service
Clients can issue cards in other countries and currencies after obtaining a properly licensed issuing
BIN for each issuing setup. With Cross-Border Issuing, clients can use a single issuing BIN and
establish a specific account range to represent a country or currency.
To perform settlement, the issuing bank may work with either its own subsidiary or with a
correspondent bank in the country of the settlement currency. The Visa Core Rules and Visa Product
and Services Rules require that the settlement bank be located in the country of the designated
settlement currency.

BASE II Cross-Border Issuing Service

Requirements
Depending on the issuance scenario (Lead Bank/Partner Bank versus Direct Issuance), the client
banks and Visa regions will have different responsibilities and tasks to perform for the Cross-Border
Issuing Service.
The Cross-Border Issuing Service tasks include:
l The Lead Bank identifying a Partner Bank.
l The Lead Bank negotiating a contract between the Lead Bank and the Partner Bank.
l The Lead Bank and the Partner Bank defining liability and risk assessments within their
contract.
l The Lead Bank identifying the account ranges for Cross-Border Issuing.
l The Partner Bank and Lead Bank defining their business requirements in the Member
Information Questionnaire (MIQ).
l The Direct issuer identifying the Cross-Border Visa issuing BIN and account range.
l The Direct issuer maintaining financial responsibility for the Cross-Border Visa issuing BIN
and account range.

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l Directly issuing the Cross-Border cards and performing all the processing of the Cross-Border
card transactions.
l The Direct issuer identifying a funds transfer for the Cross-Border account range.
The Visa regional implementation group will work with the client to establish parameters in the
VisaNet systems for authorization, clearing, and settlement.
Project Initiation
Clients who want to issue cards under Cross-Border Issuing must participate in Visa International's
Multinational Program Administration (MPA).

BASE II Cross-Border Issuing Service

Documentation
The following documentation is available:
l Visa Multinational Program Guide
l Cross-Border Issuing Member Implementation Guide
l Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, Volume 1, General Rules

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Chapter 19
VisaNet Certification Management
Service

The VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS) for BASE II enables client and endpoint staff
to test their BASE II software applications, transaction formats, and VisaNet data transmissions. The
service helps identify and fix potential problems before activating new or enhanced services into
production.

BASE II VCMS Overview

The VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS) provides a dedicated environment to clients
for testing their systems with Visa. When using VCMS for BASE II to test, participants can verify that
their transaction formats and offline clearing and settlement interfaces are in working order before
connecting to VisaNet in a production environment.
VCMS for BASE II is for Visa processors, issuers and acquirers involved with testing their systems for
BASE II data.

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BASE II VCMS Description

The VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS) for BASE II supports testing by simulating
VisaNet production systems, but in physically separate environments. VCMS ensures that messages
pass format and edit checking correctly.
VCMS for BASE II provides these testing resources.
l Responders—Support lifecycle testing.
l Visa Test System-Clearing and Settlement (VTS-CS)—Allows clients to manage their BASE II
Testing. It is a subscription-based tool available as a Visa Online (VOL) service.
l Auto-Presentation—Allows issuers to process VCMS VisaNet Integrated Payment (V.I.P.)
System online authorizations and receive settlement records for these items through VCMS
for BASE II (for BASE II-connected issuers). Auto-Presentation is available in the VTS-CS tool.
VCMS testing for BASE II:
l Verifies that the components of participating systems that have been enhanced or changed
can communicate accurately with VisaNet.
l Provides an environment to test internal systems, including testing for new clients, endpoints
and new services.
Visa Regional Testing Representatives coordinate and validate client testing, including:
l Customized File Delivery Type (CFDT) is a setting in BASE II Config that allows endpoints to
request various kinds of customized delivery files. This functionality can be used in VCMS to
separate transactions originated by Responder identifiers from those originated by non-
Responder identifiers.
To request a CFDT for transactions originated by Responder identifiers, contact a Visa
Regional Testing Representative.
Note:
CFDT is available only for delivery files.
l Supporting creation of client test data.
l Reviewing BASE II and Edit Package reports to verify successful testing, depending on the
region.
Participants can receive instructions for new services and business enhancements in the VisaNet
Business Enhancements Global Technical Letter and Implementation Guide for each service. This guide
lists the transaction type requirements that must be processed through VCMS BASE II to meet the
specified success criteria.

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BASE II VCMS and Production Differences

VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS) for BASE II offers the same core functionality as
the corresponding Visa production systems excluding expedited delivery, except for SMS reports and
raw data delivery.
Note: Not all reports are available in VCMS.

BASE II VCMS Testing Benefits

The VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS) is used to test various conditions in phases.
The VCMS testing environment provides:
l Testing for clearing and settlement interfaces in a dedicated VisaNet BASE II test
environment.
l Access to production-ready code.
l Transaction lifecycle testing.
l Daily updating of the latest currency rates from production (other than pre-release).
l Testing for new client installations and existing client upgrades to new or enhanced VisaNet
services.
l VisaNet Settlement Service (VSS) testing.
l A shared environment accessible worldwide.
l Improved client readiness for BASE II transaction processing in the production environment.
l Reduction of risk to production systems.

BASE II VCMS Documentation

The following documentation is available:
l VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS) BASE II Testing Guide
l VisaNet Business Enhancements Global Technical Letter and Implementation Guide

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Chapter 20
BASE II Clearing System
Restrictions

BASE II Clearing system uses embargo blocking to block U.S. client transactions in countries where
U.S. government regulations prohibit U.S. transactions.

BASE II Clearing System Restrictions

Overview
Visa blocks U.S. client transactions in countries where U.S. government regulations prohibit U.S.
transactions (for example, no U.S. transactions are allowed in Iran). This functionality, known as
embargo blocking, is performed by the BASE II Clearing system. Visa’s policy is to promptly add or
remove countries from the embargo blocking list as the U.S. sanctions change.

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BASE II Clearing System Restrictions

Description
Visa sets up embargo blocking for U.S. clients in V.I.P. and BASE II based on the U.S. government
trade sanctions in force.
For U.S. clients, embargo blocking is automatically set in the VisaNet for countries that are subject to
U.S. comprehensive sanctions. Visa’s Sanctions Compliance team notifies BASE II administrators when
a country needs to be added to or deleted from the system's Country Exclusion tables.
Once set, embargo blocking not only rejects embargoed country transactions on U.S. Visa cards but
also rejects embargoed country traffic on Visa cards issued by foreign subsidiaries of U.S. banks
Embargo blocking can also be used as an optional feature by issuing countries who choose to block
transactions with another country or countries (for example, the clients in country A are ordered by
their government to set embargo blocking to reject all transactions from country B).
Embargo blocking of transactions originating in countries being embargoed by the U.S. government
is mandatory for all U.S. clients.
BASE II applies blocking logic to prohibit U.S. clients from engaging in financial transactions involving
specific countries.
Legal and Political Restrictions Acquirer Information
Acquirers should be aware that transactions, such as purchases and ATM withdrawals destined for an
issuer in a country that has been listed for embargo blocking will be returned. Clients considering
acquiring transactions from any country subject to an embargo should seek independent legal
advice relating to this activity.
Legal and Political Restrictions Issuer Information
Issuers should be aware that transactions, such as purchases and ATM withdrawals originating in
countries designated for embargo blocking will be returned to the acquirer.

BASE II Clearing System Restrictions Description

When a transaction is submitted to BASE II for clearing, the Legal and Political Process Restrictions
system verifies the transaction information.
When a transaction is submitted to BASE II for clearing, the system:
l determines the issuer’s region and zone (country) and merchant’s region and zone
l edits the information against a Country Exclusion table containing the list of embargoed
countries and the countries embargoing them
l determines if the card issuer is a subsidiary of a U.S. client
l declines and returns any transactions that meet the embargo criteria

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If the transaction originated in an embargoed country, the acquiring bank does not get paid. For
example, a U.S. cardholder visiting Iran makes a credit card purchase that is not authorized because
the merchant is not linked to VisaNet. When the transaction is submitted by the merchant’s acquirer,
BASE II determines it occurred in a country on the embargoed list and was made with a U.S. client-
issued card, and, if this is the case, returns the transaction to the acquirer.

BASE II Clearing System Restrictions Service and

Support
For further information about embargo blocking, contact the Visa Sanctions Compliance team.

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