Re: Comemnt: draft-ietf-trade-ecml2-spec-07.txt

[Ray Bellis <rpb@community.net.uk>]

> Should there be a SWITCH payment card type defined, if
> the card issuer number ECom_Payment_Card_IssueNumber is
> for that card only?

The issue number also appears on "Solo" cards, although these are much
rarer than Switch cards.

There's some information about Switch joining the Maestro brand here
(http://www.switch.co.uk/maestro/switch_maestro1.htm).  There's actually
some suggestion that as part of this process the issue number will
actually disappear from Switch cards.

> Does the switch card system operate at all without the
> issue number? I mean that if the customer can not give
> the numebr to merchant in web payment, will the charging
> be made. Or is the switch issue numebr needed only for
> transaction processing, from merchant to processor?

Our own payment processing software requires the end user to supply
their card's issue number.  That issue number is included in the card
authorisation (APACS30) messages sent to UK acquirers.

On Switch cards that don't have an issue number most UK sites (including
our own) require the supply of the card's "valid from" date instead.
Strangly this "valid from" information doesn't appear to be supported by
APACS30, although I presume there must be some processors' systems
capable of using this information.

On checking our e-commerce app we do send "valid from" information to
the payment services run by Netgiro, Bibit and Netbanx.  I don't know
what they do with the information, but this does seem to suggest that we
need yet more ECML fields.

May I therefore suggest?

  Ecom_Payment_Card_ValidFrom_Day
  Ecom_Payment_Card_ValidFrom_Month
  Ecom_Payment_Card_ValidFrom_Year

Can anyone who knows better suggest whether loyalty cards might also
need "valid from" fields?

kind regards,

Ray Bellis

--
Ray Bellis, MA(Oxon) - Technical Director
community internet plc - ts.com Ltd

Windsor House, 12 High Street, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 2PJ
tel:  +44 1865 856000   email: ray.bellis@community.net.uk
fax:  +44 1865 856001     web: http://www.community.net.uk/