Authorisation Rate
Authorisation rate is the share of attempted transactions that issuing banks approve rather than decline. It is driven by card data quality, issuer risk models, 3D Secure configuration, and how well the transaction is routed, and it sits alongside the chargeback ratio as a core processing metric.
A few points of authorisation rate is pure revenue: a business at an 82% approval rate versus 90% is losing roughly one in twelve otherwise-valid sales at checkout. For high-risk merchants, routing and 3DS tuning to lift authorisation often matters more to the bottom line than shaving the headline rate.
3D Secure is the authentication layer that verifies a cardholder during an online purchase, through the card networks’ programmes such as Visa Secure and Mastercard Identity Check.
The Merchant Discount Rate is the total percentage an acquirer or PSP charges a merchant on each card transaction, bundling interchange, card-scheme fees, and the processor’s own margin.
An acquirer is the bank or financial institution that processes card payments on a merchant’s behalf, settling funds from the card networks into the merchant’s account.
An Alternative Payment Method is any way to pay that is not a traditional card: bank transfers, e-wallets, open banking, vouchers, and local schemes.