Our New Summary Metrics: An Instant Snapshot of Your Card Program’s Health

Discover how our new summary metrics enhance your experience by providing critical insights into card program health, transaction volumes, authorization rates, and more.

Driven by our core value of customer obsession, we’re always looking for ways to improve our user experience. One of the most recent ways we’ve done that is by adding summary metrics to our platform. Now, developers, support teams, and executives alike can get a full snapshot of the overall health of their company’s card program the minute they log in and can be empowered with the data they need to drive critical business decisions.

So, how can you make the most of our new summary metrics? Let’s explore.

Cleared Transaction Volume

The first metric you'll encounter is Cleared Transaction Volume. This is the total amount of transaction funds settled in USD.

Cleared transaction volume can clue you in to several markers of card program health. For example, regularly tracking your cleared transaction volume can help you understand if your card programs are growing or stagnating. This may inform whether you decide to get more aggressive in your marketing tactics or perhaps decide to choose a strategic go-to-market partner. Growth is also important in calculating how much you are likely to earn from interchange, and understanding a card program's growth trajectory is critical to projecting future interchange revenue.

Approved Authorization Volume

The second metric is Approved Authorization Volume. This is the total number of approved authorizations in USD.

Studying this metric can help you detect anomalies and reduce the chances of fraud. For example, if authorizations are being incorrectly declined due to a technical glitch, this metric will reflect this. Early detection of such anomalies allows you to resolve issues, thereby minimizing disruption to your cardholders quickly.

Authorization Rate

Next, you'll see the Authorization Rate. This is the total percentage of approved authorizations over the number of total authorizations. Here, total authorizations includes approved and declined authorizations.

A high authorization rate generally indicates smooth transaction processing, while a low rate may require further investigation into possible issues causing customer dissatisfaction. Additionally, for customers who employ Highnote’s collaborative authorization functionalities, a low authorization rate may be a reason to look even further into which transactions you choose to approve or decline.

Transaction Declines

Transaction Declines describe how often various transactions are declined and for what reason.

For example, too many transaction declines for Do Not Honor may indicate that fraudsters have gotten a hold of your card details and are trying to spend money on the cards. In that instance, you may inform your security team to be on heightened alert so they can be prepared to thwart any potential attacks. On the other hand, too many transaction declines caused by insufficient funds may indicate that too many cardholders do not understand the repayment terms on their card.

Applications Created

Applications Created describe how many applicants have tried to apply for your card. We also provide the application status:

• Approved: Number and percentage of total applications that were approved

• Denied: Number and percentage of total applications that were denied

• In review: Number and percentage of total applications that are in review

• Pending: Number and percentage of total applications that are pending

A high ratio of applications created versus declined means you may want to retarget your marketing efforts to ensure they hit the correct population for your risk parameters. It may also mean that your risk parameters are too strict and may need to be relaxed to better fit the needs of your audience. Similarly, many applications under review may signal that your support staff is overwhelmed and is, therefore, taking longer than usual to process applications. Hiring or automating more of the application review process may be in order in that scenario.

Top Merchant Categories

Top Merchant Categories showcase the five merchant categories for cleared transactions by volume, amount, and percentage.

This section could show various factors, such as how different goods or services change with seasonality. For instance, you may notice airline travel purchases spike in the summer months when families travel on vacation, which may lead you to offer targeted, travel-related advertising in the months leading up to summer break.

Top Merchant Spending

Finally, Top Merchant Spending displays the top five merchants for cleared transactions by volume, amount, and percentage.

This area will inform you which merchants your cardholders spend the most on. Tracking this can help your team determine which merchants to partner with and offer rewards and which rewards programs to wind down if they do not generate enough spending volume.

The Data You Need for Your Card Program’s Success

To sum up, our new summary metrics equip you with the data you need to optimize your card program's performance. By staying informed about key metrics, you can make strategic decisions that drive growth, improve customer satisfaction, and help you differentiate. We’re excited to empower you with these insights to monitor your program's health and proactively drive it toward even greater success. Happy data-gathering!

Ready to optimize your card program? Contact us today to learn more about how our platform can help you achieve your goals.