CardValidator Class

Properties   Methods   Events   Config Settings   Errors  

The CardValidator class is used to verify that a given credit card number is formatted properly, and could be a valid card number. Validating a card before actually submitting a transaction for authorization can reduce the fees that may be associated with invalid or declined transactions.

Syntax

ipworks3ds.CardValidator

Remarks

Utilization of this class catches accidentally mistyped card numbers and allows buyers to re-input their number without having the transaction declined. It can also determine the type of credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc) to easily determine if the customer is presenting a payment type which you do not support. The class can also parse swiped track data and perform these same checks on it.

There are three checks performed on the customer's credit card information:

The card number is checked for validity using the Luhn mod-10 algorithm.
The type of the card (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) is computed from the card number.
The expiration date is checked against the current system date.
The ValidateCard method explains these checks in more detail.

Property List


The following is the full list of the properties of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

CardExpMonthExpiration month of the credit card specified in CardNumber .
CardExpYearExpiration year of the credit card specified in CardNumber .
CardNumberCredit card number to be validated.
CardTypeIndicates the results of the Luhn Digit Check algorithm.
CardTypeDescriptionHuman-readable description of the CardType .
DateCheckPassedIndicates whether the card is expired or not.
DigitCheckPassedIndicates the results of the Luhn Digit Check algorithm.
TrackDataMagnetic stripe data read off the credit card.
TrackTypeIndicates the type of the specified TrackData .

Method List


The following is the full list of the methods of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ConfigSets or retrieves a configuration setting.
ResetClears all properties to their default values.
ValidateCardChecks the card number and expiration date for validity.

Event List


The following is the full list of the events fired by the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ErrorInformation about errors during data delivery.

Config Settings


The following is a list of config settings for the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

NameOnCardThe name encoded in the track data on the credit card.

CardExpMonth Property (CardValidator Class)

Expiration month of the credit card specified in CardNumber .

Syntax

public int getCardExpMonth();
public void setCardExpMonth(int cardExpMonth);

Default Value

1

Remarks

This field contains the month portion of the expiration date of the customer's credit card. This property must be in the range 1 - 12. The ValidateCard method compares this property against the system time to determine if the card is expired.

CardExpYear Property (CardValidator Class)

Expiration year of the credit card specified in CardNumber .

Syntax

public int getCardExpYear();
public void setCardExpYear(int cardExpYear);

Default Value

0

Remarks

This field contains the year portion of the expiration date of the customer's credit card. This property must be in the range 00-99, or 2000-2099. The ValidateCard method compares this property against the system time to determine if the card is expired.

CardNumber Property (CardValidator Class)

Credit card number to be validated.

Syntax

public String getCardNumber();
public void setCardNumber(String cardNumber);

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the customer's credit card number. A credit card number may be of any length, and may optionally include dashes or spaces. However, in practice the maximum length of the supported CardTypes is 19 characters (excluding whitespace), and the minimum length is 13 characters.

CardType Property (CardValidator Class)

Indicates the results of the Luhn Digit Check algorithm.

Syntax

public int getCardType();

Enumerated values:
  public final static int vctUnknown = 0;
  public final static int vctVisa = 1;
  public final static int vctMasterCard = 2;
  public final static int vctAmex = 3;
  public final static int vctDiscover = 4;
  public final static int vctDiners = 5;
  public final static int vctJCB = 6;
  public final static int vctVisaElectron = 7;
  public final static int vctMaestro = 8;
  public final static int vctCUP = 9;
  public final static int vctLaser = 10;

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property is filled after a call to the ValidateCard method. Allowable values include:

ctUnknown (0) The class could not determine the type of the card based on the CardNumber prefix and length.
vctVisa (1) Visa card.
vctMasterCard (2) MasterCard card.
vctAmex (3) American Express card.
vctDiscover (4) Discover Card
vctDiners (5) Diner's Club card (Carte Blanche or International - the CardTypeDescription will contain the full name).
vctJCB (6) Japan Credit Bureau card.
vctVisaElectron (7) International Visa debit card (not available in US or Canada).
vctMaestro (8) International debit card (owned and operated by MasterCard).
vctCUP (9) China UnionPay - China's only credit card organization.
vctLaser (10) Primary debit card used in Ireland.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

CardTypeDescription Property (CardValidator Class)

Human-readable description of the CardType .

Syntax

public String getCardTypeDescription();

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property is filled after calling the ValidateCard method, and will contain a text description of the CardType. This is useful to distinguish different program cards. For instance, a CardType of ccDiners might have a corresponding CardTypeDescription of "Diner's Club International", "Diner's Club Carte Blanche", or "Diner's Club enRoute".

This property is read-only.

DateCheckPassed Property (CardValidator Class)

Indicates whether the card is expired or not.

Syntax

public boolean isDateCheckPassed();

Default Value

False

Remarks

The ValidateCard method checks whether the card's expiration date (CardExpMonth and CardExpYear) is a valid future date, and stores that result in the DateCheckPassed property.

This property is read-only.

DigitCheckPassed Property (CardValidator Class)

Indicates the results of the Luhn Digit Check algorithm.

Syntax

public boolean isDigitCheckPassed();

Default Value

False

Remarks

The ValidateCard method checks whether or not the CardNumber conforms to the mod-10 digit check algorithm, and stores that result in the DigitCheckPassed property. Note that a card may pass this check and still be an invalid card. (Either a fake number that passes the digit check, or an unknown CardType).

This property is read-only.

TrackData Property (CardValidator Class)

Magnetic stripe data read off the credit card.

Syntax

public String getTrackData();
public void setTrackData(String trackData);

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property may be set with the magnetic stripe read off the back of a credit card using any commercially available card reader. You may set this property with either Track1 or Track2 data. If TrackData is set, the values contained in CardNumber, CardExpMonth, and CardExpYear are ignored when calling ValidateCard. Instead, these properties are parsed out of the track data. This allows you to easily retrieve the expiration date and card number from either Track1 or Track2 data. For instance:

CardValidator1.TrackData = "4012000033330026=21121015432112345678" CardValidator1.ValidateCard()

The CardNumber, CardExpMonth, and CardExpYear will now contain the values parsed from the track data. TrackType will also indicate whether the TrackData is Track1 or Track2 (in this case, it's Track2 data).

TrackType Property (CardValidator Class)

Indicates the type of the specified TrackData .

Syntax

public int getTrackType();

Enumerated values:
  public final static int ttUnknown = 0;
  public final static int ttTrack1 = 1;
  public final static int ttTrack2 = 2;

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property will be filled after a call to ValidateCard. If magnetic stripe data was supplied in the TrackData field, this property will indicate which type of track was entered. If no track data was entered (ie, the CardNumber was specified instead) then the TrackType will be ttUnknown.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Config Method (CardValidator Class)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

public String config(String configurationString);

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every class. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the class.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

Reset Method (CardValidator Class)

Clears all properties to their default values.

Syntax

public void reset();

Remarks

This method clears all properties to their default values.

ValidateCard Method (CardValidator Class)

Checks the card number and expiration date for validity.

Syntax

public void validateCard();

Remarks

This method performs several checks on customer information to determine if the card information submitted could be valid. This should be done before submitting an actual transaction for authorization. The tests performed are listed below:

Luhn Digit CheckThis process checks the digits of the CardNumber to make sure that it could be a valid card number. The mathematical algorithm used to determine validity is outlined in the Visa External Interface Specification: Authorization Record Formats Version 5.8, page 63.
Card Type CheckThis process checks the length and the beginning digits of the CardNumber to determine if it is a valid card type. The results of this check is stored are the CardType and CardTypeDescription properties.
Expiration Date CheckThe date given in CardExpMonth and CardExpYear is compared to the current system date to make sure that the card is still valid.

Error Event (CardValidator Class)

Information about errors during data delivery.

Syntax

public class DefaultCardValidatorEventListener implements CardValidatorEventListener {
  ...
  public void error(CardValidatorErrorEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class CardValidatorErrorEvent {
  public int errorCode;
  public String description;
}

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing.

ErrorCode contains an error code and Description contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

Config Settings (CardValidator Class)

The class accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

CardValidator Config Settings

NameOnCard:   The name encoded in the track data on the credit card.

If the TrackData you're parsing is Track1 data, it contains the customer's name, and should be identical to the name printed on the face of the card. Track2 data does not contain this name. This field will be filled after a call to ValidateCard.

Trappable Errors (CardValidator Class)

CardValidator Errors

504   Luhn digit check failed.
505   Card date invalid.
506   Card expired.
703   Invalid CardNumber format (contains letters or unknown characters).
704   Could not determine the Credit Card type.
705   Error parsing TrackData. Format cannot be determined.