A transaction object is created when a payment or payment-related event takes place on a card. Examples of events triggering the creation of a transaction object include a purchase authorization such as when a card is used to spend at a coffee shop, or a credit authorization such as when a merchant requests to issue a refund to the card.

The object is also updated whenever new events take place that modify the transaction. An example of this is when an outstanding purchase authorization is cleared by the merchant.

Our Transaction Flow guide contains detailed examples of scenarios where a transaction object is created or updated.

Transaction Events

To properly interpret the transaction object and the underlying card activity that it represents, it is first important to understand the various events that can trigger the creation of the object, or that can be subsequently added to the object's events array to represent a new lifecycle event.

Transaction events can generally be separated along two dimensions: financial vs. non-financial messages, and requests vs. advice.

	Non-financial	Financial
Requests	A message that requires a response but does not move money (e.g., authorization).	A message that requires a response and moves money (e.g., financial authorization).
Advice	An informational message that does not move money (e.g., auth advice).	An informational message that moves money (e.g., clearing).

Financial messages prompt movement of funds between accounts (e.g., a clearing message that prompts a withdrawal of funds from a card program's bank account), while non-financial messages do not prompt movement of funds (e.g., an authorization request that induces a hold on funds but doesn’t trigger a payment to the merchant until the transaction is settled).

On the other axis, requests are messages that require a response (i.e., approval or decline) to Lithic, while advice messages don’t require a response other than a notification that the advice was received.

Event Type	Description	Financial or Non-financial	Request or Advice
Authorization	A dual-message authorization request from a merchant has taken place on the card. If approved, a subsequent clearing is typically expected.	Non-financial	Request
Financial Authorization	A single-message authorization request from a merchant has taken place on the card, and no subsequent clearing is expected.	Financial	Request
Credit Authorization	A dual-message credit or refund authorization request from a merchant has taken place on the card. If approved, a subsequent clearing is typically expected.	Non-financial	Request
Financial Credit Authorization	A single-message credit or refund authorization request from a merchant has taken place on the card, and no subsequent clearing is expected.	Financial	Request
Authorization Advice	An advice message that either indicates that the authorized amount of a previous authorization is being modified, or serves as notice that an authorization was declined upstream on your behalf upstream (most typically by the network).	Non-financial	Advice
Credit Authorization Advice	An advice message that indicates a credit authorization was approved upstream on your behalf upstream (most typically by the network).	Non-financial	Advice
Authorization Reversal	An advice message that indicates an authorization was reversed by the merchant. Typical causes of this are because an authorization approval was not received in time, or because the issuer sent back an Address Verification Service (AVS) mismatch result.	Non-financial	Advice
Clearing	An advice message that indicates a merchant has captured the transaction, and money has moved.	Financial	Advice
Return	An advice message that indicates a refund has been processed on the transaction, and money has moved.	Financial	Advice
Return Reversal	An advice message that indicates a refund has been reversed. A typical cause of this is where a merchant needs to reverse an incorrectly issued refund.	Financial	Advice
Balance Inquiry	A request from a merchant for the card's balance. This is most often seen when a cardholder requests to see their balance via an ATM.	Non-financial	Request

List Transactions

API Reference: List transactions

GET https://api.lithic.com/v1/transactions

Sample Request

curl https://api.lithic.com/v1/transactions?result=APPROVED&page=1&page_size=50 \
  -H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY"

Sample Response

{
  "data": [
      "card_token": "079d1898-65f7-4d66-b0bc-172d2935a5fa",
      "amount": -7666,
      "authorization_amount": -7666,
      "merchant_amount": -7666,
      "merchant_authorization_amount": -7666,
      "merchant_currency": "USD",
      "acquirer_fee": 0,
      "created": "2020-07-15T19:17:22Z",
      "events": [
          {
              "amount": 7666,
              "created": "2020-07-15T19:17:22Z",
              "result": "APPROVED",
              "type": "RETURN",
              "token": "6a885bcb-89f6-4fcb-a0ce-7f0233ae20a0"
          }
      ],
      "merchant": {
          "acceptor_id": "174030075991",
          "city": "NEW YORK",
          "country": "USA",
          "descriptor": "RESTAURANT ABC",
          "mcc": "5812",
          "state": "NY"
      },
      "result": "APPROVED",
      "settled_amount": -7666,
      "status": "SETTLING",
      "token": "764fa5a3-2371-40f0-8cbb-9a2e1230d955",
      "authorization_code": "123456"
    }
  ],
  "page": 1,
  "total_entries": 1,
  "total_pages": 1
}


account_token (optional, query parameter)	Globally unique identifier for the account whose associated transactions should be returned. String. Permitted values: 36-digit version 4 UUID (including hyphens).
card_token (optional, query parameter)	Globally unique identifier for the card whose associated transactions should be returned. String. Permitted values: 36-digit version 4 UUID (including hyphens).
result (optional, query parameter)	Transaction result type to be returned. String. Permitted values: `APPROVED`, `DECLINED`.
begin (optional, query parameter)	Transaction entries created on or after the specified date will be included. String. Permitted values: Date string in the form YYYY-MM-DD.
end (optional)	Transaction entries created before the specified date will be included (i.e., transaction entries created on the specified date will not be included). String. Permitted values: Date string in the form YYYY-MM-DD.
page_size (optional, query parameter)	For pagination - specifies the number of entries to be included on each page in the response. Default value is 50. Integer. Permitted values: 1-1000.
page (optional, query parameter)	For pagination - specifies the desired page to be included in the response. For example, if there are 3 total entries, and `page_size` is 2 (i.e., 2 entries per page), then entering the value `2` for `page` would return the second page and only the third entry. The default is one. Integer. Permitted values: 1 or greater.

Get Specific Transactions

API Reference: Get specific transaction

GET https://api.lithic.com/v1/transactions/{transaction_token}

Sample Request

curl https://api.lithic.com/v1/transactions/764fa5a3-2371-40f0-8cbb-9a2e1230d955 \
  -H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY"

Sample Response

{
      "card_token": "079d1898-65f7-4d66-b0bc-172d2935a5fa",
      "amount": -7666,
      "authorization_amount": -7666,
      "merchant_amount": -7666,
      "merchant_authorization_amount": -7666,
      "merchant_currency": "USD",
      "acquirer_fee": 0,
      "created": "2020-07-15T19:17:22Z",
      "events": [
          {
              "amount": 7666,
              "created": "2020-07-15T19:17:22Z",
              "result": "APPROVED",
              "type": "RETURN",
              "token": "6a885bcb-89f6-4fcb-a0ce-7f0233ae20a0"
          }
      ],
      "merchant": {
          "acceptor_id": "174030075991",
          "city": "NEW YORK",
          "country": "USA",
          "descriptor": "RESTAURANT ABC",
          "mcc": "5812",
          "state": "NY"
      },
      "result": "APPROVED",
      "settled_amount": -7666,
      "status": "SETTLING",
      "token": "764fa5a3-2371-40f0-8cbb-9a2e1230d955",
      "authorization_code": "123456"
}


transaction_token (required, path parameter)	Globally unique identifier for the transaction to be returned. String. Permitted values: 36-digit version 4 UUID (including hyphens).

Simulate Transactions

See Simulating Transactions.

Enumerations

Transaction.status


BOUNCED	There was an error settling the transaction against the funding source. Your API account may be disabled
DECLINED	The transaction was declined
PENDING	Authorization is pending completion from the merchant
SETTLING	The merchant has completed the transaction and the funding source is being debited
SETTLED	The transaction is complete
VOIDED	The merchant has voided the previously pending authorization

Transaction.result and events[*].result


ACCOUNT_STATE_REVIEW	Account (to which the card used in the transaction belongs) is under review; relevant to Starter customers only
ACCOUNT_STATE_TRANSACTION_FAIL	Contact [email protected]
APPROVED	Successful transaction
AUTH_RULE_ALLOWED_COUNTRY	Transaction was declined because the merchant's country is not contained in the set of allowed MCCs configured via Auth Rules
AUTH_RULE_ALLOWED_MCC	Transaction was declined because the merchant's merchant category code (MCC) is not contained in the set of allowed MCCs configured via Auth Rules
AUTH_RULE_BLOCKED_COUNTRY	Transaction was declined because the merchant's country is contained in the set of blocked countries configured via Auth Rules
AUTH_RULE_BLOCKED_MCC	Transaction was declined because the merchant's merchant category code (MCC) is contained in the set of blocked MCCs configured via Auth Rules
BANK_CONNECTION_ERROR	Please reconnect a funding source
BANK_NOT_VERIFIED	Please confirm the funding source
CARD_PAUSED	Card state was paused at the time of authorization
CARD_CLOSED	Card state was closed at the time of authorization
DECLINED	Transaction was declined for a reason not captured by the other listed reasons
DO_NOT_HONOR_ADVICE	Transaction was declined due to a decision made by the acquirer or the card network. This is most typically seen when transaction processing takes a long time on the Lithic side, either due to customer's ASA responder taking too long to respond, or the Lithic platform itself taking too long. An advice with this result typically follows a declined authorization or an approved and voided authorization.
FRAUD_ADVICE	Transaction declined due to risk-related reasons
IGNORED_TTL_EXPIRY	Authorization could not be processed by the Lithic platform in time
INACTIVE_ACCOUNT	Contact [email protected]
INCORRECT_PIN	PIN verification failed. In rare cases, this result can be triggered if the merchant sends through bad PIN data, even if the cardholder was not prompted to enter a PIN during the transaction
INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS	Enterprise programs: Transaction was declined because the card's available balance was insufficient to cover the authorization amount. Starter programs: Please ensure the funding source is connected and up to date.
INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS_PRELOAD	Result given when client responds to ASA request with `INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS`. See ASA Response Result
INVALID_CARD_DETAILS	Incorrect CVV or expiry date
INVALID_TRANSACTION	Transaction type (for example, inter-account transfer) cannot be processed
MERCHANT_BLACKLIST	This merchant is disallowed on the platform
ORIGINAL_NOT_FOUND	Merchant submitted a reversal without a corresponding original
PREVIOUSLY_COMPLETED	A duplicate message from the network was received on a transaction that has already been completed or cleared
SINGLE_USE_RECHARGED	Single-use card attempted multiple times
SWITCH_INOPERATIVE_ADVICE	Network error, re-attempt the transaction
UNAUTHORIZED_MERCHANT	Merchant locked card attempted at different merchant
UNKNOWN	Transaction was declined for an unspecified reason
UNKNOWN_HOST_TIMEOUT	Network error, re-attempt the transaction
USER_TRANSACTION_LIMIT	User-set spend limit exceeded