TrustCommerce Developer's Guide 2.5

http://www.trustcommerce.com
developer@trustcommerce.com

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

This guide is for developers. If you are seeking to add payment processing functionality to a software package or website using the TrustCommerce, platform and language neutral, transaction processing API, then this guide is for you. If you are connecting via a pre-integrated commerce package, including shopping carts such as StoreForge, Mal's e-Commerce, or osCommerce, then you do not need this document.

An overview of payment processing and information about the TrustCommerce Vault website are presented in the TrustCommerce User's Guide and will not be covered here. If you are not familiar with the basics of credit card processing (such as the difference between an auth and capture), then you should probably read the User's Guide first. The User's Guide also describes the Vault's reporting capabilities, which you may find useful to confirm that your test transactions are working as expected.

There are two methods of connecting to the TrustCommerce gateway at the programming level: TCLink client software and HTTPS POST to the Vault server. TCLink is HIGHLY recommend, as it offers support for TrustCommerce's advanced features such as automated failover, 2048-bit encryption and server certificate verification. It's available for many platforms and languages, and installation is straightforward. If you are unable to use TCLink, the HTTPS POST method will still allow you to access most features of the TrustCommerce processing engine, but be aware that it cannot match the speed and especially the reliability of TCLink.

II. Connecting via TCLink

The TCLink API is available for download from the Vault website. Be sure to choose the version that matches the platform and language that you are using. Win32 developers will typically want the COM object, which contains support for a number of different languages on the Win32 platform, including ASP, Cold Fusion, Perl, PHP, and Python.

Installation instructions specific to the TCLink version you download can be found in the readme file contained within the archive. It will also contain a version of the TCTest program specific to the language you are using. Review this example, and use it as the basis for your own code. In fact, we recommend that you look over the code sample now to get a feel for the API, and then return to reading this document.

Versions of TCLink for high-level languages (including PHP, Perl, Python, and Java) with built in support for hashes only have one method: Send(). This method accepts a single parameter, a hash of input values, and returns a single parameter, a hash of output values. The only other method available is GetVersion(), which returns the version string for TCLink.

TCLink for other languages (including C/C++, Win32 COM, and CFX) contains four basic methods: Create(), PushParam(), Send(), and GetResponse(). These four methods map to the four stages of running a transaction: initialize, push a number of parameters describing the transaction, send the transaction to the TrustCommerce gateway for processing, and finally get details about the transaction results.

The only method which contacts the TC servers is Send(). This function will block for one or two seconds while the transaction is processed. Afterward, you can retrieve response parameters at your leisure; they are stored internally in TCLink.

C-style TCLink functions are described in the table below.

TCLink Function Names

III. Transaction Types

You may wish to read the section of the TC User's Guide which describes the transaction types and the authorization/capture process, especially if you are not already familiar with credit card processing.

In terms of parameters passed, preauths and sales are almost identical. They take account data and personal information about the customer, along with a transaction amount. The transaction is authorized and the response values returned. In the case of a sale, the item is also immediately submitted for capture. Preauths are not captured until they are postauthed.

Postauths and credits are also very similar to one another. They indicate a capture or a return of funds for a previous transaction, and no personal data about the customer or their payment method is passed.

There are three other types of transaction. Store and unstore are covered in the Billing ID section of this document. Walletsale is covered under the TC Wallet section .

IV. Input Parameters

There are a large number of parameters available for describing transactions. Not all parameters are accepted for all transaction types, and most parameters are optional. Most transactions can be sent with only a few parameters. The only parameters always required are custid, password, and action.

Parameters are carefully checked for format and size before the transaction is sent. If there are any errors in the parameters you've entered, the transaction will be aborted and detailed information about the errors will be returned. These return values are described in more detail in the next section.

All transaction types use the parameters presented in the following tables.

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

V. Return Parameters

Any transaction sent will return several parameters describing the success or failure of the transaction. Properly formatted transactions will always return a transaction ID (or "transID".) The transaction ID is the unique identifier for this transaction, and can be used to retrieve the transaction from the Vault website, or otherwise access the transaction in the future. (For example, in order to credit a previous transaction, you will need to send the transID of the original transaction.)

Transactions always return a status parameter which describes the success or failure of the transaction. Status can be set to one of the following:

Status

The difference between approved and accepted is subtle, but important. Approved means that the transaction was an authorization of some sort, and has been successfully cleared with the bank. Accepted only means that the transaction was queued into the system without errors, but may be rejected at some later time. An example of the difference is a sale versus a credit. A sale is a real-time authorization, so it returns approved on success. A credit is not real-time; there is no such thing as a "credit authorization." Instead it is queued up for processing by the bank and there is the small but non-zero possibility that it will be rejected at a later time. In practice, however, this rarely happens, so the developer need not worry unduly.

When status is set to decline, the parameter declinetype will contain one of the following:

Decline Type

A status of baddata indicates that no transaction was attempted because one or more parameters was invalid. In this case, the parameter error will indicate the problem, and the offender's parameter will list the offending input fields. The error parameter may be set to one of the following:

Bad Data

A status of error indicates the an error occurred while processing the transaction. These are almost always networking errors; see the Troubleshooting section for more details. If the status is error, then the errortype parameter will be set to one of the following:

Errortype

Other parameters (such as avs or billingid) may be returned by the transaction depending on the action; see sections covering the transaction type you're running for detailed information on the specialized return values.

VI. Credit Card Preauths and Sales

The 'preauth' and 'sale' actions are identical in terms of parameters and function. The only difference is that a sale submits the item for capture as well, while preauths run the authorization only and can be postauthed at another time.

The parameters that can be passed with these action types are described in the following two tables. The first table list required fields that you must pass in order to send the transaction. The second table lists optional fields that you can pass if you wish, but are not required.

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

AVS Returns Codes

Preauth/Sale Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypasswd', 
                 'action':    'preauth', 
                 'amount':    '500', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
                 'name':      'Jennifer Smith', 
                 'address1':  '123 Test St.', 
                 'city':      'Somewhere', 
                 'state':     'CA', 
                 'zip':       '90001', 
                 'avs':       'y' 
         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'approved'): 
                 print  'Transaction was successful' 
         elif (result['status'] == 'decline'): 
                 print 'Transaction declined.  Reason: ', result['declinetype'] 
         elif (result['status'] == 'baddata'): 
                 print 'Improperly formatted data.  Offending fields: ', result['offenders'] 
         else: 
                 print 'An error occurred: ', result['errortype'] 

         print 'Here are the full details:' 
         print result 

VII. Card Verification Value (CVV)

Another method for cardholder verification is the CVV system. Visa cards use what is called a CVV(II) or CVV2 code; MasterCard calls it CVC2, and American Express calls it CID. CVV(II) and CVC2 (Visa/MC) are located on the back of the credit card, printed in ink on the signature strip. The number is the last three digits on the right hand side of the long string of numbers on the strip. In the case of CID (AmEx), the number is a four-digit value located on the front of the card, printed just above the card number on the left hand side. This value is passed to TCLink through the following parameter.

CVV Parameters

The CVV value will be checked if anything is passed in this parameter. (If you don't include the parameter, no CVV test will be run.) If the CVV matches, the transaction will run as normal. If it does not, you will receive a status of decline, and a declinetype of cvv.

In some cases you may wish to pass the CVV code without actually checking to confirm that it is correct. In that case set checkcvv=n.

CVV Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypasswd', 
                 'action':    'sale', 
                 'amount':    '500', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
                 'cvv':       '123' 
         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'decline'):
                 if (result['declinetype'] == 'cvv'):
                         print 'The CVV number is not valid.' 

VIII. Card-Present Transactions

In a retail environment with a card swiper, you may wish to pass magnetic stripe data along with the other credit card information on a preauth or sale. There are two parameters which you can use to send this data, named track1 and track2. Each one is for a different type of track data, and depends on the type of card reader being used.

Card-Present Parameters

You can include all data read from the track, but only data between the start sentinel (a '%' character for track1 and a ';' for track2) and the end sentinel ('?') will be used. Everything outside the start and end sentinels (such as the trailing LRC character) will be discarded.

The cc and exp fields may be passed, but are not required, since they will be extracted from the track data. If you do pass one or both of these fields, however, and it does not match the data extracted from the track data, a status of baddata and an error mismatch will be returned.

If both track1 and track2 data are passed, the system will choose track1 by default for the authorization, and track2 will be discarded.

Generally AVS and address data are not necessary for swiped transactions, but you may pass them anyway if you choose. All data passed will be saved in the vault and can be downloaded for reports and later analysis.

Card Present Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypasswd', 
                 'action':    'sale', 
                 'amount':    '500' 
         } 

         params['track1'] = CardReader.readMagStripe() 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

IX. ACH

ACH, also known as electronic checks, is very different from credit cards in that it allow a direct debit or credit to a checking account. The concept of "authorization" does not exist; it is purely a money transfer. For this reason, the only transaction types available for ACH are sale and credit. ACH credits are identical to all other types of credits in the TrustCommerce system, so please refer to postauths, credits and chargebacks for details on issuing credits.

ACH sales take the same parameters as credit card sales, with the exception of the "cc" and "exp" fields. Instead, use the following parameters.

ACH Parameters

AVS is not available for ACH transactions, so the AVS setting is ignored.

There is only one declinetype returned from unsuccessful ACH sales, and that is "decline."

ACH Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypass', 
                 'action':    'sale', 
                 'media':     'ach', 
                 'amount':    '1000', 
                 'routing':   '789456124', 
                 'account':   '55544433221' 
         } 

         tclink.send(params) 

X. Postauths, Credits, and Chargebacks

These three transaction types are similar in that they reference a successful transaction previously executed through the TrustCommerce system. These transaction types will not accept credit card information or other personal information fields. There is only one required parameter.

Required Parameters

In addition, postauths and credits can take an optional amount parameter.

Optional Parameters

If no amount is passed, the default will be to take the amount from the original transaction. If, however, you wish to credit or postauthorize less than the original amount, you may pass this parameter.

Credit Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypass', 
                 'action':    'credit', 
                 'transid':   '001-0000111101' 
         } 

         tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] != 'accepted'):
                 print 'Credit unsuccessful.' 

XI. Citadel (Billing IDs)

The Citadel enables you to store customer billing information in an encrypted TrustCommerce database. This information can then be recalled with a single six-character alphanumeric code known as a billing ID. Besides offloading the liability of storing sensitive data such as credit card numbers from your business to TrustCommerce, the Citadel can also simplify application development on your servers.

The Citadel has two unique actions, store and unstore. These transction types allow you to create, update, and deactivate billing IDs. Once stored, the billing ID will be passed in place of the many billing information fields for preauth and sale transactions.

Store Parameters

The store transaction looks very similar to a preauth or sale. You may pass credit card information , billing and shipping address, or even ACH information.

You can update information on existing billing IDs by passing the billingid field along with the store transaction. If you wish to erase the data contained in a field, pass the exact string "null" (four characters, all lower case) as the parameter value.

The verify parameter is useful for ensuring that the card number is valid if you are not planning to bill the customer right away. It has no effect for ACH billing IDs, because there is no such thing as an ACH preauth. It is recommended that you pass avs=y for further verification of the cardholder's data. Please note: normally, billing ID storage returns a status of accepted, because the card is unverified. If you use the verify parameter, however, it will return approved upon success.

Unstore Parameters

The unstore action takes a single parameter:

Unstore removes the billing ID from active use, and you won't be able to run further transactions on it. For your convenience, however, it does remain visible in Vault (flagged as an inactive ID), so you can still look up old IDs if needed.

Billing ID Example

To run a billing ID transaction, pass the billingid parameter to a preauth or a sale in place of all of the usual billing info fields (name, cc, exp, routing, account, etc). That's all there is to it! You'll find that your sale or preauth transactions are now only a few parameters: custid, password, billingid, and amount.

         # First, store a new ID. 
         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypass', 
                 'action':    'store', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
                 'name':      'Jennifer Smith' 
         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'accepted'): 
                 # It was successfully stored.  Now try running a transaction on the new ID. 
                 billingid = result['billingid'] 
                 params2 = { 
                         'custid':    'mycustid', 
                         'password':  'mypass', 
                         'action':    'sale', 
                         'billingid': billingid, 
                         'amount':    '995' 
                 } 
                 tclink.send(params2); 
                 # Unstore the ID now that we are done. 
                 params3 = { 
                         'custid':    'mycustid', 
                         'password':  'mypass', 
                         'action':    'unstore', 
                         'billingid': billingid 
                 } 
                 tclink.send(params3) 

XII. Recurring Billing

Recurring billing (also called "subscription billing") is an extension of the billing ID system. There are four parameters that are added to a store which turn the billing ID into a recurring billing ID. They are described below.

Recurring Parameters

Cycle is in the format of a number between 1 and 99 followed by a character representing the time frame: 'd' for days, 'w' for weeks, 'm' for months or 'y' for years. For example, a value of "3d" in this field would cause the charge to recur every three days, whereas a value of "2m" would cause it to recur every two months.

Amount is identical to the amount passed to a sale or a preauth, and indicates the amount of each charge made during the subscription.

Start is an optional field which allows the delay of the cycle's start. By default, the cycle starts the day the billing ID is stored. If it is specified in the format YYYY-MM-DD, it indicates a date when the first payment should be made. (For example, "2005-02-01" would be February 1, 2005.) If it is in the same format as the cycle (a number followed by a character), it indicates an offset from the current date. (For example, "1d" would start the billing tomorrow.)

If there is no start parameter, the first transaction is run immediately (and can cause the store action to return a "decline" or other result you would expect from a sale). Other return parameters associated with auths, such as avs code, will be returned as well.

If you pass authnow=y, an immediate authorization will be performed for the payment amount, but the funds will not be captured until the start date is reached. This is handy for free trial accounts: because the funds are authorized immediately, you are assured the money. If they cancel sometime between the time the billing ID is stored and the start date of the billing cycle, you can unstore the ID and they will never be charged. Their free trial will be the time between the billing ID store and the billing cycle start date. Authnow requires that a start date be specified.

The payments field is also optional; left blank or set to zero it will continue the billing cycle until it is manually interrupted by an unstore, or by updating the billing ID with cycle set to "null". Once the final payment is made, the billing ID will be unstored, unless lastpaymentunstore is set to 'n'. lastpaymentunstore should only be used when the number of payments is specified.

There is only one instance in which the cycle parameter is not required, and that is a one-time future payment. By setting payments to "1" and passing a start date, the payment will be made on that date and then the billing ID unstored. The cycle parameter may be included with a one-time future payment, but it will have no effect.

Recurring Billing Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypass', 
                 'action':    'store', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
                 'name':      'Jennifer Smith', 
                 'amount':    '1200' 
         } 

         mode = chooseSubscriptionMode() 

         if (mode == 1): 
                 # Make a payment every day, infinitely (or until someone manually disables it) 
                 params['cycle'] = '1d'; 
         elif (mode == 2): 
                 # Make a payment once a month for one year 
                 params['cycle'] = '1m'; 
                 params['payments'] = '12'; 
         elif (mode == 3): 
                 # Make a payment every six weeks, starting one week from now 
                 params['cycle'] = '62'; 
                 params['start'] = '1w'; 
         elif (mode == 4): 
                 # Make annual payments, and don't start until September 1, 2007 
                 params['cycle'] = '1y'; 
                 params['start'] = '2007-09-01'; 
         elif (mode == 5): 
                 # Make a one time payment in 45 days 
                 params['start'] = '45d'; 
                 params['payments'] = '1'; 

         tclink.send(params) 

XIII. TC Wallet

The TC Wallet is an additional service offered by the TrustCommerce gateway that allows you to run many small micro payments which are later lumped together and submitted as a single, large payment. This can offer a substantial savings for the merchant in transaction fees, as merchant account providers tend to penalize merchants that run small payments.

Wallet Parameters

The Wallet is an extension of the billing ID system. It adds three new parameters to the store action, described below.

In order to enable wallets for the billing ID that you are storing, set the "wallet" parameter to "y". The other two parameters are optional, as there are default values attached to your TC account. If you wish to change these default values (which are normally $10.00 and 72 hours) please contact TrustCommerce. If you wish to change the values for an individual billing ID without changing your defaults, include these parameters.

Once the billing ID is stored, it is possible to use a new action type on the ID called walletsale. It is identical to a sale in all ways, except that it can only be used on wallet-enabled billing IDs, and it can accept amounts anywhere from $0.01 up to the size of the wallet. Walletsale will usually return "approved", but it may return "decline" if the stored credit card fails to re-authorize when the current wallet is exceeded. Except for these two modifications (the wallet parameters on the store, and changing sales to walletsales), there is no extra development to be done client-side to make wallets work. Captures happen automatically after walletexposure has expired or the walletamount has been used up; reauthorizations also happen automatically.

Wallet Example

         # First, store a new ID with the wallet enabled. 
         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypass', 
                 'action':    'store', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
                 'name':      'Jennifer Smith', 
                 'wallet':    'y' 
         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'approved'): 
                 # We have a new wallet at our disposal.  Run a micropayment on it. 
                 billingid = result['billingid'] 
                 params2 = { 
                         'custid':    'mycustid', 
                         'password':  'mypass', 
                         'action':    'walletsale', 
                         'billingid': billingid, 
                         'amount':    '995' 
                 } 
                 tclink.send(params) 

XIV. CrediGuard - Neural Network Fraud Scoring

The fraud score represents an evaluation of how legitimate or fraudulent the transaction appears. A fraud score close to 0 means that the transaction is likely to be fraudulent, while a fraud score close to 100 means that the transaction is likely to be legitimate.

The CrediGuard Score Threshold is a number from 0 to 100 that controls how restrictive the CrediGuard fraud screening system should be. Any transaction with a fraud score less than the CrediGuard score threshold will be declined. All other transactions will be accepted as per usual. The following chart sums up the effects of the possible CrediGuard score threshold ranges:

The default score threshold can be configured within the Vault web interface. To override the default score threshold, you can optionally pass in an extra parameter to set a different score threshold for the current transaction only:

CrediGuard Parameters

With Neural Network scoring enabled, the return parameters for each transaction will contain an additional parameter for the calculated fraud score:

CrediGuard Return Parameters

CrediGuard Neural Network Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypasswd', 
                 'action':    'sale', 
                 'amount':    '500', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
                 'threshold': '45',
         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'decline'):
                 if (result['declinetype'] == 'fraud'):
                         print 'Transaction declined based on fraud score.'

CrediGuard Fuzzy Logic Scoring Example

         score_bottom = 30
         score_top = 70

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypasswd', 
                 'action':    'sale', 
                 'amount':    '500', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
                 'threshold': score_bottom
         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'decline'):
                 if (result['declinetype'] == 'fraud'):
                         print 'Transaction declined, score was too low.'

         if (result['status'] == 'approved'):
                 if (result['fraudscore'] > score_top):
                         print 'Transaction approved'
                 else:
                         print 'Transaction accepted pending review'

XV. CrediGuard - Blacklists

Blacklist rules are configured from within the Vault web interface and apply to all transactions, so there are no blacklist input parameters that you need to pass in with TCLink.

If a transaction is declined because it matches a blacklist rule that you have created, the reason for this decline will be returned via the following parameters:

Blacklist Return Parameters

Blacklist Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypasswd', 
                 'action':    'sale', 
                 'amount':    '500', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'decline'):
                 if (result['declinetype'] == 'blacklist'):
                         print 'Transaction declined based on blacklist rule.'
                         print 'The offending field was: ' + result['blacklistfield']
                         print 'And the blacklisted value was: ' + result['blacklistvalue']

XVI. CrediGuard - Velocity Control

CrediGuard can perform four different types of velocity checks:

Velocity Types

Each of the four velocity types offers a count (number of transactions) and a total (dollar amount sum). For each of those two values, there are four time periods, ranging from one day to one month. All of these velocity settings are configured from within the Vault web interface and apply to all transactions, so there are no velocity input parameters that you need to pass in with TCLink.

If a transaction is declined on the basis of exceeding one of these velocity settings, the reason for this decline will be returned via the following parameters:

Velocity Return Parameters

Velocity Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':    'mycustid', 
                 'password':  'mypasswd', 
                 'action':    'sale', 
                 'amount':    '500', 
                 'cc':        '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':       '0412', 
         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'decline'):
                 if (result['declinetype'] == 'velocity'):
                         print 'Transaction declined based on ' + result['velocitytype'] + ' velocity controls.'

XVII. Purchase Level II

Purchase Level II is required by some merchant banks to achieve a qualified discount rate. It is only used for B2B or B2G transactions. If you are selling products directly to consumers, you do not need to use PL2. Additionally, PL2 can only be used if the cardholder is using one of the three types of commercial cards: a corporate card, a business card, or a purchasing card.

PL2 Input Parameters

PL2 has three new parameters:

PL2 Output Parameter

A successful PL2 transaction will return one extra response parameter

If you don't care what kind of card they used (which you probably don't), there is no reason to store or otherwise do anything with the commercialcard return value. TrustCommerce internally handles all the details for you. However, if you want this information for some reason, you can access it from the result parameters.

Purchase Level II Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':           'mycustid', 
                 'password':         'mypass', 
                 'action':           'sale', 
                 'cc':               '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':              '0412', 
                 'amount':           '1000' 
                 'name':             'Jennifer Smith', 
                 'purchaselevel':    '2' 
                 'purchaseordernum': '12345678901234567' 
                 'tax':              '83'    # $10.00 x 8.25% sales tax = $0.83 

         } 

         result = tclink.send(params) 

         if (result['status'] == 'approved'): 
                 print 'Approved' 

XVIII. Automated Fulfillment

TrustCommerce offers the unique feature of automated fulfillment, by which orders submitted through the TCLink API can contain parameters describing product information. This information is then passed on to your fulfillment house, which ships the products automatically. Even if you aren't using automated fulfillment, you can use the order line item specification parameters to store information in the TrustCommerce transaction database about the type of products ordered.

First, you may wish to specify the shipping address for the customer. If it is the same as the billing address, you need not duplicate it, but rather just send the shiptosame parameter set to y. The table below lists the shipping parameters.

Ship To Parameters

Order Header Parameters

Second, some additional data about the order as a whole should be passed in the form of the following parameters.

Order Detail Parameters

Finally, a number of parameters which describe the details of each type of item must be passed. In the table below, the 'X' character in the parameter name should be replaced with a digit indicating which item it applies to. For example, if numitems is set to three, then you should pass three product codes, in the form of productcode1, productcode2, and productcode3.

Please note: the shippinghandling field and the shippinghandlingX fields are mutually exclusive. Use one or the other, but not both. If you're not sure which to use, please contact your fulfillment house.

Fulfillment Example

         params = { 
                 'custid':           'mycustid', 
                 'password':         'mypass', 
                 'action':           'preauth', 
                 'cc':               '4111111111111111', 
                 'exp':              '0412', 
                 'amount':           '1979',  # Total of items, tax, and shipping 
                 'name':             'Jennifer Smith', 
                 'address1':         '123 Test St.', 
                 'city':             'Somewhere', 
                 'state':            'CA', 
                 'zip':              '90001', 
                 'shiptosame':       'y',     # Shipping address is same as billing address 

                 'numitems':         '2',     # Two total product codes will be described 
                 'shippingcode':     'OVRNGT', 
                 'shippinghandling': '695', 

                 'productcode1':     'PCODE1', 
                 'quantity1':        '3', 
                 'price1':           '600',   # Item 1 costs $2.00, and there are 3 of them 
                 'tax1':             '144',   # Tax of 8% 

                 'productcode2':     'PCODE2', 
                 'quantity2':        '1', 
                 'price2':           '500',   # Item 1 costs $5.00, there's only one 
                 'tax2':             '40'     # Tax of 8% 
         } 

         tclink.send(params) 

XIX. Batch Processing

The TrustCommerce Batch Processing service allows programmers to submit an unlimited number of transactions in a single file for offline processing. The file can contain a mixture of transaction types (preauths and postauths, credits, sales, stores and unstores for example) and can use Citadel Billing IDs, ACH Routing codes or credit card information to identify the account to be charged. In fact, any field found in Appendix E – Input Field List of this guide can be included.

Naming Conventions

While there is no required naming convention for the transaction file sent to TrustCommerce, we recommend the convention shown in the table below.

The results file that we return to you will use your file name with the prefix "result-".

Sample Batch Upload File

To invoke the Batch Processing service use your programming language's HTTPS POST function and point it at https://batch.trustcommerce.com/submit.php .

A sample batch upload file might look like this:

 ticket,action,cc,exp,amount,name,email 
 01-1224,sale,4111111111111111,0412,999,Test Person,person@example.com 
 00-1175,preauth,4111111111111111,0412,333,Test Person,person@example.com  

Sample Batch Response File

The response file will contain one response record for each uploaded transaction record.

The results file can then be downloaded interactively from the Vault or by invoking your language's HTTPS POST function pointed at https://batch.trustcommerce.com/download.php .

A sample response file might look like this:

ticket,status,transid,billingid,declinetype,errortype,offenders,avs
 01-1224,approved,010-0001364786,,,,,N
 00-1175,approved,010-0001364785,,,,,N

Status Reporting

Email is the primary means used by the Batch Processing service to provide status updates. Status updates will be sent to the same email address used for Daily Reports emails. This email address can be modifed on the "Settings" page of the Vault's web interface.

After uploading your file, the system will respond immediately with an "Acknowledged" message and then follow by sending an email with a subject similar to the following:

Subject: Batch File [your file name] Picked Up

The content of the mail will provide processing statistics including the number of records found in the file.

When processing is complete, a second e-mail will be sent. The subject this time will look like:

Subject: Batch File [your file name] Complete

The body of this email will contain relevant information including the number of approvals, declines, accepts and settlements.

Sample Code

The sample HTML code shown below illustrates the functionality of the Batch Processing service invocation of the TCLink API. It can be pasted into a file and loaded on your web browser in order to experiment with batch processing before you even begin to write your code.

Batch Upload Example

 <html> 
 <head> <title> TrustCommerce Batch Upload Interface </title> </head> 
 <body> 
 <h2> TrustCommerce Batch Upload Interface </h2> 

 <form action=https://batch.trustcommerce.com/submit.php method=post 
 enctype=multipart/form-data> 
         <table align=center border=1> 
         <tr> 
                 <td> custid </td> 
                 <td> <input type=text name=custid> </td> 
                 <td> This is your TrustCommerce custid (required) </td> 
         </tr> 
         <tr> 
                 <td> password </td> 
                 <td> <input type=password name=password> </td> 
                 <td> This is your TrustCommerce password (required) </td> 
         </tr> 
         <tr> 
                 <td> batch file </td> 
                 <td> <input name=file type=file> </td> 
                 <td> This is the batch file to upload (required) </td> 
         </tr> 
         <tr> 
                 <td colspan=3> <input type=submit> </td> 
         </tr> 
         </table> 
 </form> 
 </body> 
 </html> 

Batch Results Download Example

 <html> 
 <head> <title> TrustCommerce Batch Results Download Interface </title> </head> 
 <body> 
 <h2> TrustCommerce Batch Results Download Interface </h2> 

 <form action=https://batch.trustcommerce.com/download.php method=post> 
         <table align=center border=1> 
         <tr> 
                 <td> custid </td> 
                 <td> <input type=text name=custid> </td> 
                 <td> This is your TrustCommerce custid (required) </td> 
         </tr> 
         <tr> 
                 <td> password </td> 
                 <td> <input type=password name=password> </td> 
                 <td> This is your TrustCommerce password (required) </td> 
         </tr> 
         <tr> 
                 <td> result file name </td> 
                 <td> <input name=file type=text> </td> 
                 <td> This is the result file name to download (required) </td> 
         </tr> 
         <tr> 
                 <td colspan=3> <input type=submit> </td> 
         </tr> 
         </table> 
 </form> 
 </body>
 </html>

XX. Vault Query API

The Vault website serves as a web-based interface for merchant reconciliation. On the back end, it is a complex database that tracks all transactional data for your TrustCommerce account. The information contained in the Vault can be accessed at the API level using a standard CGI query over HTTPS.

The query API returns data in CSV (comma separated value) format, which is just a flat text file with fields separated by commas, and records separated by newlines. (You can also request the data returned in an HTML table, which is useful for debugging.) The first line of the file contains the name of each field that will be returned in subsequent records.

The parameters that the query interface accepts are described in the table below.

Required Parameters

The sample HTML code shown below illustrates the functionality of the query API. It can be pasted into a file and loaded on your web browser in order to try out some queries before you even begin to write your code.

Query Example HTML

<html>
<head> <title> TrustCommerce Query Interface </title> </head>
<body>
<h2> TrustCommerce Query Interface </h2>
<form action=https://vault.trustcommerce.com/query/>
	<table align=center border=1>
	<tr>
		<td> custid </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=custid> </td>
		<td> This is your TrustCommerce custid (required) </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> password </td>
		<td> <input type=password name=password> </td>
		<td> This is your TrustCommerce password (required) </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> format </td>
		<td> <select name=format> <option value=text>text</option>
				<option value=html>html</option></select></td>
		<td> Human readable (html) or computer readable (text) results</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> Query type </td>
		<td> <select name=querytype> 
		<option value=chain>chain</option>
		<option value=transaction>transaction</option>
		<option value=summary>summary</option>
		<option value=billingid>billingid</option>
		</select></td>
		<td> Type of query </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> media </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=media value=cc> </td>
		<td> For now this must be cc </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> begindate MM-DD-YYYY HH:MM:SS </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=begindate> </td>
		<td> Query begins at this date</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> enddate MM-DD-YYYY HH:MM:SS </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=enddate> </td>
		<td> Query ends at this date</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> chain </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=chain> </td>
		<td> Narrow search to a single chain of transactions </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> transid </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=transid> </td>
		<td> Narrow search to a single transactions </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> billingid </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=transid> </td>
		<td> Narrow search to a single billingid </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> pastdue </td>
		<td> <select name=pastdue> 
		<option value=y>y</option>
		<option value=n>n</option>
		</select></td>
		<td> Use 'y' or 'n'. For billing ID search.  Show only recurring billing IDs
		     that have been unable to capture the requested funds. </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> action </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=action> </td>
		<td> Narrow search by action. (example: preauth,postauth) </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> status </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=status> </td>
		<td> Narrow search by status. (example: approved,accepted) </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> name </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=name> </td>
		<td> Narrow search by name. </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> cc </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=cc> </td>
		<td> Narrow search by credit card field. </td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> limit </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=limit value=20> </td>
		<td> Limit results to this number of fields (not used for summary)</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> offset </td>
		<td> <input type=text name=offset value=0> </td>
		<td> Report results at this offset (used with limit to page through results)</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td> showcount </td>
		<td> <select name=showcount> 
		<option value=y>yes</option>
		<option value=n>no</option>
		</select></td>
		<td> Show the number of not-limited rows on the last line of the result</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td colspan=3> <input type=submit> </td>
	</tr>
	</table>
</form>
</body>
</html>

Appendix A - Test Data

While testing, you may wish to experiment with the different responses that the gateway can generate. The following test card numbers will produce an approval, and have address data as listed, for testing AVS. If you wish to test CVV, the code listed int he right-hand column is the correct CVV code, Other valid credit cards will work, but will produce a 'U' AVS code.

Please note: these cards ONLY work on transactions flagged as demo, or while your account is in "test" mode! For a live transaction, they will all return a decline with a declinetype of carderror.

Test Cards - Approved

The following card numbers will generate a decline, with the declinetype listed as follows. You may use this to test code which takes different paths dependent upon the type of decline.

Test Cards - Declined

ACH Test Numbers

You should also test your code to make sure it properly handles all baddata and error cases. Simply pass bad values in order to generate these situations.

Appendix B - Troubleshooting

Details about installing and troubleshooting TCLink specific to your development platform can be found in the documentation included with the TCLink archive.

Once you are able to connect to the TC gateway, you should be able to diagnose parameter-related issues using the status, declinetype , and errortype parameters returned by the gateway. There is one response which indicates a more generic error, and that's an error of cantconnect. First, check the computer's network connection; can you ping machines on the Internet, by IP or by name?

The most common network connectivity error is that your target computer may be behind a firewall. TCLink uses the HTTPS port (443/tcp) for network communications; you can check whether this port is open from the target machine by typing "telnet vault.trustcommerce.com 443" at a UNIX command prompt, or else by loading a web browser on the target machine and attempting to visit https://vault.trustcommerce.com directly. If you timeout attempting to make the connection, but your Internet connection is working otherwise, then you may be firewalled. Speak to your network administrator about allowing outbound TCP traffic on port 443.

Another common problem is the lack of domain name (DNS) resolution. In some cases this will result in an errortype dnsfailure. (Not always; the TCLink software will sometimes fall back to hard coded IP addresses for established accounts. But this method is insecure and error-prone, and is used only as a last resort to keep a system with temporary DNS issues up and running during the outage.) The target machine must be able to resolve the trustcommerce.com domain; try typing "host trustcommerce.com" from a UNIX command prompt. If you don't get a response, or get an error, then the machine cannot resolve DNS information and TCLink will not be able to connect to the TC gateway. Speak to your sysadmin about making domain name resolution available to your target host.

Appendix C - Connecting via HTTPS POST

This method should only be used if a TCLink client install is not an option. It does not have the failover capability (and thus the processing uptime is not guaranteed to be 100%), or some of the enhanced security features of TCLink. In addition, transactions may be slightly slower, by an extra half second or so. It does, however support all other features available through TCLink, including all parameters and transaction types.

This is the URL:

https://vault.trustcommerce.com/trans/

The transaction should be sent as a standard POST, with CGI parameters, URL encoded. The parameters are otherwise identical to those used through TCLink.

Response parameters are returned as name-value pairs separated by newlines.

Appendix D - Currency Table

Currency Codes

Appendix E - Input Field List