Getting Started with Visa Transaction Controls
Visa Transaction Control

Getting started with Visa Transaction Controls

Let cardholders manage transaction rules, limits, and merchant categories using Visa Transaction Controls.

Available for use by:
Issuer banks Issuer banks for small businesses

About Visa Transaction Controls

Consumers want complete visibility and control to track their spending. Visa supports you in creating next gen banking experiences that put your cardholders at the center of your mobile app.

Key Features

  • Offer blocks and alerts for the following transaction types:
    • Decline all 
    • Spend limit 
    • Cross-border
    • ATM withdrawl 
    • E-commerce
    • In-store 
    • Recurring 
    • Contactless
    • Funds transfer
    • MCC-level controls 
  • Available on mobile banking app or online website 
  • Available for all cards regardless of brand or network routing 
  • Visa's on-behalf-of (OBO) service reduces your work-effort and costs for all Visa processed transaction

Availability

Refer to Availability Matrix for the availability of the product in different regions. 

Types of Controls

VTC offers issuers a variety of block and alert capabilities, the exact features and functionality of which they can then select, configure and present to their cardholders. VTC blocks and alerts are extremely flexible and designed to work together or be used independent of each other, as standalone features, with different thresholds triggering their use.

For example, an issuer may allow cardholders to block all internet transactions or only internet transactions over a certain purchase amount. An alert may accompany these transactions that is triggered at a lower dollar amount than is used for declines (e.g. trigger an alert for all internet purchases over $100 and decline all internet purchases over $1000). Similarly, the issuer may not want to offer transaction blocking seeking to avoid unintentional declines and only allow use of VTC alerts.

Each VTC alert contains important transaction details, such as the amount, time, date, alert type and the type of purchase. Alerts allow cardholders to take immediate action at the first sign of potential fraud. Alerts are sent to the issuer’s existing alert platform to notify the customer.

TYPE OF BLOCKS AND ALERTS
 		DESCRIPTION
Global

Card-level rules, imposed on all transactions  (e.g. Card On/Off).    
Cross Border

Used when the merchant and issuer’s country code do not match for a card-present transaction.
E-Commerce

Used for card-not-present transactions performed at e-commerce and mail order/telephone order (MOTO) merchants
ATM Withdrawal

Used for ATM cash withdrawals.
Brick and Mortar 

Used for card present transactions.
Auto Pay 

Used for recurring or installment payment transactions.
Contactless 

Used for contactless purchases in a card present environment.
Merchant Category Groups

VTC supports a number of merchant control catagories (see Customer Rules API MerchantControls child attributes.  Enabling a merchant card control will trigger a VTC response whenever a purchase is made at a merchant with a corresponding MCC.