Acceptance Rate Optimization

Acceptance Rate Optimization is about maximizing authorization success — diagnosing declines, routing smarter, and retrying intelligently. This page lists the 50 data points Athia uses for this use case, with the definition, type, expected source, availability and data class of each.

Field names below are the payments-standard names for each data point, so use this page to line your own schema up against them. Amounts on this page are decimal, matching the core dictionary — see Athia Data Dictionary.

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The field names on this page are payments-standard names — they describe each data point at the level of the standard it comes from. Athia Data Dictionary carries the names Athia uses and a crosswalk between the two. You do not have to match either exactly — the mapping from your own columns is agreed with your Athia team on ingest. One delivered field often covers several data points here, decline codes especially.

Sub-use cases

  • Decline diagnostics — explains why authorizations fail, joining the raw auth trail (response code, AVS/CVV results, ARN/RRN, auth code) to issuer, BIN and MCC context and to canonical decline reasons.
  • Decline code intelligence — normalizes issuer, network and gateway decline codes plus the decline message into a canonical root cause, decline type and retry-eligibility signal.
  • Smart retries — decides whether and when to retry, using attempt sequence, parent/original transaction links, time between attempts, Merchant Advice Code, decline type and retry eligibility.
  • Cascading/failover — follows an attempt across processors and acquirers, using retry/cascade lineage, cascade step and previous acquirer.
  • BIN/acquirer routing — chooses processor and acquirer by BIN, brand, card product, funding source, regulated-debit status, issuer country, amount, currency, merchant and MCC.
  • 3DS routing & exemptions — evaluates authentication and SCA exemption strategy from 3DS version, message category, device channel, ECI, exemption requested, liability shift, AVS result and amount.
  • STIP & outage detection — spots issuer stand-in processing and outage fallbacks from the auth response source, acquirer, authorization timing and ACS latency.
  • Peer benchmarks — compares performance against similar merchants using MCC and MCC rollup, brand, card product, BIN, issuer and issuer country.
  • Network tokens & Account Updater — reads credential capture method and card range from POS entry mode and BIN.

Data points

Transaction core

FieldCategoryDefinitionTypeExampleSourceAvailabilityData class
transaction_idTransaction coreUnique identifier of the authorization attempt within Athia.uuid9f1c…a2PSP / processor reportFullNone
parent_txn_idTransaction coreLinks a retry/cascade attempt back to the originating transaction.uuid9f1c…a1PSP / processor reportPartialNone
merchant_idTransaction coreMerchant identifier (MID) the attempt was submitted under.stringMID_88213PSP / processor reportFullNone
mccTransaction coreMerchant Category Code classifying the merchant's business.code5411PSP / processor reportFullNone
amountTransaction coreAuthorized amount, with currency.money49.99 USDPSP / processor reportFullNone
currencyTransaction coreTransaction currency.codeUSDPSP / processor reportFullNone
auth_timestampTransaction coreInstant the auth request was made.timestamp2026-05-21T14:03:11ZPSP / processor reportFullNone
processor_idTransaction coreGateway/processor that handled the attempt.stringstripePSP / processor reportFullNone
acquirer_idTransaction coreAcquiring bank/institution used for the attempt.stringacq_chasePSP / processor reportFullNone
auth_codeTransaction coreIssuer-returned approval code on success.stringA1B2C3PSP / processor reportFullNone
arnTransaction coreAcquirer Reference Number tracing the transaction through clearing.string7491…0231Acquirer / network fileFullNone
rrnTransaction coreRetrieval Reference Number for the transaction.string615012345678PSP / processor reportFullNone
stanTransaction coreSystem Trace Audit Number for the message.integer045128PSP / processor reportPartialNone
response_codeTransaction coreIssuer/acquirer authorization response code.code05 (Do not honor)PSP / processor reportFullNone
avs_resultTransaction coreAddress Verification Service match result.codeYPSP / processor reportFullNone
cvv_resultTransaction coreCard security code verification result.codeMPSP / processor reportFullNone
pos_entry_modeTransaction coreHow card data was captured (keyed, token, etc.).code812PSP / processor reportPartialNone

Card & issuer

FieldCategoryDefinitionTypeExampleSourceAvailabilityData class
BINCard & issuerBank Identification Number (first 6–8 digits of PAN).string424242PSP / processor reportFullPCI
card_brandCard & issuerCard network (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc.).enumVisaPSP / processor reportFullNone
card_productCard & issuerProduct tier/program of the card.enumWorld EliteThird-party enrichmentFullNone
card_typeCard & issuerFunding category.enumcreditThird-party enrichmentFullNone
funding_sourceCard & issuerUnderlying funding (credit/debit/prepaid/commercial).enumdebitThird-party enrichmentFullNone
issuer_nameCard & issuerIssuing bank name.stringChaseThird-party enrichmentFullNone
issuer_countryCard & issuerCountry of the issuer.codeUSThird-party enrichmentFullNone
regulated_debit_flagCard & issuerWhether the debit card is Reg II (Durbin) regulated.booleantrueThird-party enrichmentFullNone

3DS & auth

FieldCategoryDefinitionTypeExampleSourceAvailabilityData class
threeds_version3DS & authEMV 3DS protocol version used.enum2.2.0PSP / processor reportLimitedNone
message_category3DS & auth3DS message category (payment vs non-payment).enum01-PAPSP / processor reportLimitedNone
device_channel3DS & authChannel of the authentication (browser/app/3RI).enum02-BRWClient instrumentationLimitedNone
eci3DS & authElectronic Commerce Indicator (auth/liability state).code05PSP / processor reportPartialNone
cavv3DS & authCardholder Authentication Verification Value (proof of 3DS).stringjJ81…AABBNot availableNot availableSensitive
exemption_requested3DS & authSCA exemption requested (TRA, LVP, MIT, etc.).enumTRAPSP / processor reportLimitedNone
liability_shift_flag3DS & authWhether liability shifted to the issuer on this auth.booleantruePSP / processor reportPartialNone
acs_latency_ms3DS & authAccess Control Server response latency.integer820Not availableNot availableNone

Retry & cascade

FieldCategoryDefinitionTypeExampleSourceAvailabilityData class
retry_attempt_numberRetry & cascadeSequence number of the retry for a given credential.integer2PSP / processor reportPartialNone
original_txn_idRetry & cascadeThe first attempt this retry descends from.uuid9f1c…a1PSP / processor reportPartialNone
macRetry & cascadeMastercard Merchant Advice Code guiding retry behavior.code03 (Do not retry)PSP / processor reportLimitedNone
time_between_attemptsRetry & cascadeElapsed time since the prior attempt.integer86400 (s)Athia derivedPartialNone
cascade_stepRetry & cascadePosition in the failover chain.integer1Not availableNot availableNone
previous_acquirer_idRetry & cascadeAcquirer used on the prior cascade step.stringacq_wfNot availableNot availableNone

Enrichment

FieldCategoryDefinitionTypeExampleSourceAvailabilityData class
bin_issuer_lookupEnrichmentIssuer/country/brand resolved from the BIN database.stringChase / US / VisaThird-party enrichmentFullNone
mcc_rollupEnrichmentHigher-level grouping of MCCs for analysis.enumGroceryAthia derivedFullNone
decline_root_causeEnrichmentCanonical root cause mapped from raw codes.enuminsufficient_fundsAthia derivedFullNone

Decline & response

FieldCategoryDefinitionTypeExampleSourceAvailabilityData class
issuer_response_codeDecline & responseRaw issuer authorization reason in ISO 8583 DE-39 (the issuer's stated reason, e.g. 51 = insufficient funds) — the layer beneath the approve/decline result.code51PSP / processor reportFullNone
network_decline_codeDecline & responseRaw scheme/network decline code (e.g. Adyen refusalCodeRaw for Visa/Mastercard) — the network's code, distinct from the gateway's normalized string.code51PSP / processor reportPartialNone
gateway_decline_codeDecline & responsePSP/gateway normalized decline code (Stripe decline_code, Adyen refusalReasonRaw category, Braintree processor response).codeinsufficient_fundsPSP / processor reportFullNone
decline_messageDecline & responseHuman-readable decline / error message returned with the authorization response.stringInsufficient funds/over credit limitPSP / processor reportFullNone
acquirer_response_codeDecline & responseAcquirer-level response/error code, which can differ from the issuer's DE-39 reason.code00PSP / processor reportPartialNone
decline_typeDecline & responseCanonical classification of the decline — soft / hard / technical — that drives retry eligibility.enumsoftAthia derivedFullNone
retry_eligibleDecline & responseWhether the decline is retry-eligible per Merchant Advice Code, decline type and scheme retry rules.booleantrueAthia derivedPartialNone
auth_response_sourceDecline & responseWhether the response came from the issuer, network Stand-In Processing (STIP), or an outage fallback.enumissuerPSP / processor reportLimitedNone

Availability

Availability describes how reliably Athia can obtain a field, not how useful it is. Most fields for this use case sit on the authorization record in the PSP or processor report; the rest depend on 3DS and cascade detail that not every setup exposes.

ValueWhat it means in practice
FullAthia gets this reliably from standard sources.
PartialAvailable from some providers or some of the time.
LimitedAvailable only in specific setups or on request.
Not availableAthia cannot obtain this today.

Data class

PCI exposure is minimized: only the BIN — plus last four where a use case needs it — is carried, never a full PAN and never a CVV value. Fields marked PII should be delivered hashed, tokenized or generalized rather than in the clear. Fields marked Sensitive, here cavv, are never required by Athia.

Field-level definitions for the core entities are in Athia Data Dictionary.


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