X-Cart forums - "Credit card owner:" is a USELESS field for USA credit card processing

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- - "Credit card owner:" is a USELESS field for USA credit card processing (https://forum.x-cart.com/showthread.php?t=67749)

"Credit card owner:" is a USELESS field for USA credit card processing

I am in testing on my new and improved checkout -- and I just happen to be using test names for transactions -- but I am using my real name for "Credit card owner:" in the X-payments input filed...

AND I AM noticing that the "Credit card owner:" name doesn't transmit to the gateway.
Hmm...

So I started to ask around...

I called FirstData -- the largest card processor in the US.

Me: does the "Credit card owner name" field get sent to the merchant account/gateway and is it needed for authorization?
FDMS: it's not used, not required. the ONLY fields we look at are the billing name/address, card#, expiry and CVV. if your shopping cart is collecting the "Credit card owner name" it is useless data.
Me: please repeat the last thing you said -- is the "Credit card owner name" useless for card processing?
FDMS: Yes.

Then I called Elavon, also one of the largest card processors in the US:

Me: does the "Credit card owner name" field get sent to the merchant account/gateway and is it needed for authorization?
Elavon: it's not used, and not required. the ONLY fields we look at are the billing name/address, card#, expiry and CVV. if your shopping cart is collecting the "Credit card owner name" it is useless data.
me: Why do many shopping carts ask for this information?
Elavon: Many years ago, it was used for verbal authorizations - now it appears to be just a speedbump. There is no practical purpose for collecting this information.
==========

Um, X-Cart - why are we collecting USELESS data from the customer if the credit card processors are not asking for it?

Didn't you guys pay $$$$$ crazy money to PCI SAQ firms to guide you on this?

Let's do a roll call... everyone reading this should take 3 minutes, call your merchant bank. Ask them if the "Credit card owner:" field is used or required.

I am not talking about "Billing name" - as that is what X-payments is sending to the gateway... It appears that X-Payments is simply parsing the billing first/last and placing it into a field called "Credit card owner:" - but it has no useful purpose.

Then why is the field editable?

Make things EASIER for the customer = higher conversion rates

If the field is meaningless for actual authorization, then the field should not be displayed to the customer (or it should not be editable).

Yes?

Re: "Credit card owner:" is a USELESS field for USA credit card processing

Authorize.net asks for it, but I'm pretty sure it is not even used.

Code:

$transaction = new AuthorizeNetAIM('YOUR_API_LOGIN_ID', 'YOUR_TRANSACTION_KEY');

$transaction->amount = '9.99';

$transaction->card_num = '4007000000027';

$transaction->exp_date = '10/16';

It looks like the above is all that is required to send to them. Though I thought address verification was part of the process?

Re: "Credit card owner:" is a USELESS field for USA credit card processing

Quote:

Originally Posted by totaltec

Authorize.net asks for it, but I'm pretty sure it is not even used.

Code:

$transaction = new AuthorizeNetAIM('YOUR_API_LOGIN_ID', 'YOUR_TRANSACTION_KEY');

$transaction->amount = '9.99';

$transaction->card_num = '4007000000027';

$transaction->exp_date = '10/16';

It looks like the above is all that is required to send to them. Though I thought address verification was part of the process?

Yes, AVS is based on Billing Name and Billing Address. The field in x-payments "credit card owner" is not involved in AVS.

Re: "Credit card owner:" is a USELESS field for USA credit card processing

I think it really depends on the Payment Gateway being used to be honest. Our's (USA ePay) requires we send the name on the card as part of their fraud checking system (we use their similar to braintree transparent redirect api)

Re: "Credit card owner:" is a USELESS field for USA credit card processing

Quote:

Originally Posted by exsecror

Yes. I would imagine some gateways will use this. I should not assume that FDMS and Elavon as two of the largest processors in the US, would have industry best practices.

Re: "Credit card owner:" is a USELESS field for USA credit card processing

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpeperdiem

Yes. I would imagine some gateways will use this. I should not assume that FDMS and Elavon as two of the largest processors in the US, would have industry best practices.

I think that's the major chief issue with a lot of payment gateways, there's no set standards. There really should be at least a core set of those to avoid messes like this.