TSYSGiftCard Component

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The TSYSGiftCard component is used to manipulate funds on Gift and Prepaid Cards using the Vital/TSYS payment system. This component supports card-present gift card transactions, and allows for simple, direct, secure communication to the Vital/TSYS TLS/SSL gateway through a standard Internet connection. This component can be integrated into web pages or stand- alone Point Of Sale applications. Because all TLS/SSL communications are handled inside the component, any application or web page can be deployed without the need for expensive dedicated TLS/SSL servers.

Syntax

nsoftware.InPayDirect.Tsysgiftcard

Remarks

This component supports two different kinds of Stored Value cards. Gift Cards and Prepaid Cards. Gift Cards support only the Fifth/Third and Stored Value Systems (SVS) ReceivingInstitutions, and a merchant must have software (such as this component) to authorize gift card Purchase (redemption) transactions. On the other hand, Prepaid cards (once activated) authorize exactly like credit cards, and can be used at any store. Examples of gift and cards include a retailer's gift card, a prepaid telephone card, and a reloadable subway pass. Examples of prepaid cards would be the prepaid cards purchased at shopping malls, or sometimes given away as promotional gimmicks. Not included in either of these are government income-support cards, otherwise known as EBT cards or electronic food stamps. (Use the TSYSBenefit component for EBT cards).

The TSYSGiftCard component makes these transactions very easy by adding an additional layer of abstraction between the programmer and the protocol. There is no need to deal with raw sockets, TLS/SSL handshakes, or data packet formatting. The steps to setting up the component and authorizing a transaction are outlined below:

First, set the merchant properties with setup information acquired from your member bank or processor. For instance:

  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantBankId = "999995"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantNumber = "888000002447"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantName = "TEST_MERCHANT"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantTerminalNumber = "1515"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantStoreNumber = "5999"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantCategoryCode = "5999"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantCity = "Durham"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantState = "NC"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantZip = "27713"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantTimeZone = "705"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantABANumber = "123456789"
  TSYSGiftCard1.MerchantSettlementAgent = "V123"    
  TSYSGiftCard1.AgentBankNumber = "000000"
  TSYSGiftCard1.AgentChainNumber = "111111"
  TSYSGiftCard1.IndustryType = itRetail
  TSYSGiftCard1.ReceivingInstitution = riFifthThird 

Next, set properties that contain details about the transaction. The TransactionNumber is a sequence number, and should be incremented for each transaction you send. TransactionAmount is the amount of sale, plus any CashBackAmount returned to the customer, formatted with an implicit decimal place (CashBackAmount is only applicable to the ttGiftCardPurchase TransactionType). The MagneticStripe data for Prepaid cards can be either track1 or track2, but Gift cards support only the dsTrack2 EntryDataSource. Both types support manual entry via the Number, ExpMonth, and ExpYear properties.

In addition, you are also be required to set an EmployeeId and BatchNumber for Gift Card transactions. (These are ignored for Prepaid transactions). Even though Gift Card transactions are not submitted for settlement, the BatchNumber should reflect the batch sequence number of the current batch. The EmployeeId is a unique number used to identify the employee operating the terminal being used to issue gift cards. For example:

  TSYSGiftCard1.TransactionNumber = 1
  TSYSGiftCard1.BatchNumber = 123  
  TSYSGiftCard1.EmployeeId = "12345678"
  TSYSGiftCard1.TransactionAmount = "1000"
  TSYSGiftCard1.CashBackAmount = "300" 
  TSYSGiftCard1.CardTrack2Data = "9999999800002773=09121015432112345678"

The TSYSGiftCard component supports both Gift Card and Prepaid Cards, so you should make sure to choose the correct TransactionType for the type of card you are using. Then call the Authorize method to submit the transaction.

  TSYSGiftCard1.TransactionType = ttGiftCardPurchase
  TSYSGiftCard1.Authorize()

When the component receives a response from the Vital/TSYS servers, the result of the authorization will be displayed in several Response properties. The Code indicates whether the transaction was approved, and the remaining properties provide additional information about the transaction.

Note that Gift Card and Prepaid Card transactions, with the exception of the ttPrepaidCardPurchase TransactionType are real-time transactions, and cannot be settled with the TSYSSettle component. ttPrepaidCardPurchase is identical to a credit card purchase made with the TSYSRetail component, so it must be settled with the TSYSSettle component. However, using this component to authorize Prepaid card transactions allows you to retrieve balance information and allow partial authorizations.