Overview

Value-added transactions let you append extra charges—like gratuities or service fees—to a base payment. Use these features to streamline tipping, cover incidentals, or support custom billing scenarios.

In this guide you’ll learn

• How to add tips during or after authorization
• Implementation options using authorization adjustments or over-capture
• Best practices and API considerations

Prerequisites & Limitations

• Active merchant account with authorization adjustment or over-capture enabled
• PCI DSS Level 1 compliance for all related operations
• Card network limits on over-capture amounts (typically up to 15–20% above auth)

Compliance / Regulation Mandates

• PCI DSS Level 1: All value-added transactions—including tips added via adjustments or over-capture—must comply with PCI DSS Level 1 to ensure secure handling of payment data.
• PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication: In the EU, tipping and service-fee flows require two-factor authentication under PSD2 for customer-initiated charges.
• AML & KYC: Perform risk-based anti-money laundering controls and customer due diligence before enabling gratuities or service charges.
• GDPR Data Protection: Any personal data used in tipping functionality must adhere to GDPR principles—data minimization, explicit consent, and secure storage.

Feature Table

Key Details

Tip

Enable customers to add a gratuity or service fee alongside their payment.

Implementation Options

• Authorization Adjustment: After initial auth, send an adjust-transaction request to increase the authorized amount by the tip value before capture.
• Over-Capture: When capturing, specify an amount higher than the original auth (within scheme limits) to include tip in a single capture call.

API Reference: See the Create Transaction API’s Card Transactions section for details on adjusting and capturing with extra amounts.