For those of you who use Authorize.Net, it has recently come to our attention that Authorize.Net has made some changes to their default fraud settings. These changes have led to an increase in failed transactions with the message that the transaction is being held for review by the processor.
When this response is returned by Authorize.Net, Arctic views it as a failure because it cannot know if the transaction will be approved or rejected.
Since Arctic views the response as a failure, you must wait to see if the transaction is approved or approve it yourself through your Authorize.Net gateway account. If the transaction is ultimately approved, you will then have to record a “manual” payment on the invoice for the amount of the now approved transaction to be sure the invoice is credited with the payment.
Essentially, you have to treat these transactions as though you processed them directly through your Authorize.Net accounts rather than through Arctic.
This response has, in the past, been a rare occurrence and usually indicated a guest’s issuing bank had limits or additional approvals that were required for certain types of purchases. However in recent weeks, we have noticed an uptick in the number of transactions both from the backend and the guest-facing side that are being held for review. This can lead to trouble tracking the missing transactions when they are ultimately approved through Authorize.Net and can make it difficult for guests to process payments online.
In our investigations we found the reason this response is being returned more often is due to some recent changes Authorize.Net has made to their default fraud settings. There are several adjustments recommended to keep transactions from being held for review. The following image details the various changes recommended and suggested best practices for ensuring you have the proper filters for your needs enabled.
If you are a Path Payments customer, Adam Callaway has made himself available to help you make any needed adjustments to your Authorize.Net gateway or to answer any questions you might have. If you are not a Path Payments customer, you can reach out to your merchant service provider of choice or Authorize.Net directly to ask for guidance on how to adjust your filters to ensure the transactions processed through your gateway are processed rather than held for review.
Again, when the “transaction held for review” response is received, Arctic will view it as a failed transaction. It will be logged with the other transactions made on your gateway and can be viewed on the “Browse Credit Card Transactions” page. To access the “Browse Credit Card Transactions” page, go to the “Reports” menu and choose “Manage”. On the “Browse Reports” page, select the “Filter” tab and then click “Browse” in the “Credit Card Transactions” section of the page.
If the transaction is approved through your Authorize.Net gateway after it has been reviewed and appears on your batch statement, you will need to record a “manual” payment on the invoice to reflect the payment made.
You can read more about applying manual payments to invoices in the following support documentation: Taking Payments
If you have any questions about transactions that have failed due to the “transaction held for review” response or how to properly record them after they have been approved through Authorize.Net, please feel free to contact support and we will be happy to help.
All questions about how to make the needed adjustments to your Authorize.Net account will need to be made to your merchant service provider or directly to Authorize.Net’s support. Unfortunately we cannot provide direct guidance for these adjustments.
