The payment process
How payment statuses flow through our system, and what they mean:
About service levels
The life cycle of your card payments depends on your service level with Worldpay.
This section explains the payment status life cycle for card payments (CARD-SSL) on each service level. To understand other statuses as a result of the alternative payment methods we offer, see the
Worldpay offers five service levels:
| Service Level | Description |
|---|---|
| C - level | The Worldwide Payment Gateway handles the authorisation and capture of your payments. Your acquirer handles settlement and reconciliation. |
| M - level | The Worldwide Payment Gateway handles the authorisation, capture, settlement and reconciliation of your payments. |
| R - level | Operates in the same way as M - level, except the Worldwide Payment Gateway does not store/apply the processing fees. The fees are typically set out in an agreement between merchant, Worldpay and acquirer. |
| S - level | The Worldwide Payment Gateway handles the authorisation, capture and reconciliation of your payments. Your acquirer handles the settlement. |
| A - level | The Worldwide Payment Gateway handles the authorisation of your payments. |
C - level
C - level Payment flow
This diagram shows the typical flow of a payment through possible statuses. The dashed green box represents the life cycle of a successful online payment:
Note: Due to the complexity of interactions between global systems, payment methods and shoppers, on rare occasions payment statuses flow in a different way.
Note: If a refund was eligible for online authorisation and was refused, the payment can transition from Captured to Refund_Failed.
C - level payment statuses
In (general) order of the flow:
| Payment status | Description |
|---|---|
| SENT_FOR_AUTHORISATION | We've requested permission (from the card issuer) to process the shopper's payment. |
| AUTHORISED | The payment has been approved and the funds reserved in the shopper's account. |
| CAPTURED | The funds reserved against the shopper's account have now been removed, and are travelling to your merchant account. |
| SETTLED_BY_MERCHANT | The gateway has successfully instructed the acquirer to transfer the funds. Your acquirer will confirm the actual settlement. |
| REFUSED | The payment request has been declined by a third party, or by a Worldpay fraud detection service. |
| ERROR | The payment wasn't completed. Your shopper may want to reattempt it. |
| CANCELLED | Either you or a Worldpay fraud detection service has stopped the transaction. |
| EXPIRED | The authorisation period ended before a capture or cancel request was made. |
| SENT_FOR_REFUND | You've requested funds to be sent back to the shopper. If online authorisation is applicable, this indicates that the refund was authorised by the card issuer. |
| REFUND_FAILED | The refund couldn't be processed and the funds were returned to your account. If online authorisation is applicable, this indicates that the refund was refused by the card issuer. |
| REFUNDED_BY_MERCHANT | The gateway has successfully instructed the acquirer to process the refund. Your acquirer will confirm the actual refund. |
C level journal flow
Once payments reach the AUTHORISED status, they are mapped to journals as they move through our system.
Journals are shown in:
Payment responses in the Direct integration model (theaccountTypeattribute of<balance>)Order notifications (theaccountTypeattribute of<accountTx>)Order inquiries (theaccountTypeattribute of<balance>)
This flow shows the interaction between payment statuses and Worldpay's journals. The dashed red box represents the path of a successful online payment:
Journal descriptions
| AccountType | Description |
|---|---|
| IN_PROCESS_AUTHORISED | The balance on this account AUTHORISED by the financial institutions. |
| IN_PROCESS_CAPTURED | The balance on this account CAPTURED with the financial institutions on your behalf. |
M/R/S - level
M/R/S - level payment flow
This diagram shows the typical flow of a payment through possible statuses. The dashed green box represents the life cycle of a successful online payment:
Note: An online refund which is refused by the card issuer will move directly to REFUND_FAILED.
Dispute process
This diagram shows the additional payment statuses for disputes:
Note: Due to the complexity of interactions between global systems, payment methods and shoppers, on rare occasions payment statuses flow in a different way. For dispute management statuses, the Worldwide Payment Gateway can only report on a payment status if we receive this information from the acquiring bank.
M/R/S - level payment statuses
In (general) order of the flow:
| Payment status | Description |
|---|---|
| SENT_FOR_AUTHORISATION | We've requested permission (from the card issuer) to process the shopper's payment. |
| AUTHORISED | The payment has been approved and the funds reserved in the shopper's account. |
| CAPTURED | The funds reserved against the shopper's account have now been removed, and are travelling to your Worldpay account. |
| SETTLED | Funds have been received by Worldpay and are being prepared for transfer to your bank account. |
| REFUSED | The payment request has been declined by a third party, or by a Worldpay fraud detection service. |
| ERROR | The payment wasn't completed. Your shopper may want to reattempt it. |
| CANCELLED | Either you or a Worldpay fraud detection service have stopped the transaction. |
| EXPIRED | The authorisation period ended before a capture or cancel request was made. |
| SENT_FOR_REFUND | You've requested funds to be sent back to the shopper. If online authorisation is applicable, this indicates that the refund was approved by the card issuer. |
| REFUND_FAILED | The refund couldn't be processed and the funds were returned to your account. If online authorisation is applicable, this indicates that the refund was refused by the card issuer. |
| REFUNDED | A confirmation that the issuer will process the refund and the shopper will receive it. |
M/R/S - level dispute payment statuses
In (general) order of the flow:
| Payment status | Description |
|---|---|
| INFORMATION_REQUESTED | A card issuer has requested information about a transaction. The amount of the disputed transaction has been held until the outcome of the dispute. Note: For S - level this status may not be reported to you. |
| INFORMATION_SUPPLIED | You've sent us defence information for the dispute. Note: For S - level this status may not be reported to you. |
| CHARGED_BACK | The funds have been returned to the shopper, following the card issuer's decision. |
| DISPUTE_EXPIRED | The time frame for the dispute has ended without result. |
| DISPUTE_RESERVE_RELEASED | The card issuer has ruled in your favour and the funds have been released. |
| CHARGEBACK_REVERSED | Additional defence information has reversed a chargeback decision. |
M/R/S level journal flow
Once payments reach the AUTHORISED status, they are mapped to journals as they move through our system.
Journals are shown in:
Payment responses in the Direct integration model (theaccountTypeattribute of<balance>)Order notifications (theaccountTypeattribute of<accountTx>)Order inquiries (theaccountTypeattribute of<balance>)
This flow shows the interaction between payment statuses and Worldpay's journals. The dashed red box represents the path of a successful online payment:
Note: Needs to include Refund_Failed as an outcome for refused online auth refunds.
Journal descriptions
| AccountType | Description |
|---|---|
| IN_PROCESS_AUTHORISED | The balance on this account AUTHORISED by the financial institutions. |
| IN_PROCESS_CAPTURED | The balance on this account CAPTURED with the financial institutions on your behalf. |
| SETTLED_BIBIT_NET | Contains the net amount due to you. The actual amount transferred is the balance of this account adjusted for a DEPOSIT correction. |
| SETTLED_BIBIT_COMMISSION | Contains the financial institution cost, or commission, withheld from the CAPTURED amount at the time of settlement. |
| DEPOSIT | The amount Worldpay holds in deposit for you, kept at a preset level. The Configuration Details page in the |
A - level
For A - level, once a payment reaches AUTHORISED, your interaction with the Worldwide Payment Gateway ends.
A - level payment flow
This diagram shows the typical flow of a payment through possible statuses:
A - level payment statuses
In (general) order of the flow:
| Payment status | Description |
|---|---|
| SENT_FOR_AUTHORISATION | We've requested permission (from the card issuer) to process the shopper's payment. |
| AUTHORISED | The payment has been approved and the funds reserved in the shopper's account. |
| REFUSED | The payment request has been declined by a third party, or by a Worldpay fraud detection service). |
| ERROR | The payment wasn't completed. Your shopper may want to reattempt it. |
A - level journal flow
In the A - level service, an AUTHORISED payment maps only to the IN_PROCESS_AUTHORISED journal, which represents the balance on this account AUTHORISED by the financial institutions. This journal shows in:
Payment responses in the Direct integration model (theaccountTypeattribute of<balance>)Order notifications (theaccountTypeattribute of<accountTx>)Order inquiries (theaccountTypeattribute of<balance>)
