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Configure Velocity Controls

Velocity Controls

Refunds and reversals will not impact the cumulative amount on a Velocity Control.

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Velocity Controls allow time boundary constraints to be applied to a Spend Rule. The following example explains the difference between Velocity Controls and Spend Rules:

  • For a given Payment Card, a Spend Rule is set to decline all authorizations greater than $1,000.
  • For the same Payment Card, a Velocity Control may be added to the existing Spend Rule to decline any authorizations that exceed $1,000 in spend within a calendar week.

Velocity Controls allow you to refine transaction authorization decisioning to target fraudulent behavior better or permit your customers to budget their spending on your product.

Adding a Velocity Control to a Spend Rule prohibits cumulative spending within a specified time frame - daily, weekly, or monthly. A Velocity Control must have an Amount Spend Rule. Two additional Spend Rules may be added as needed. The cumulative spend amount is based on the sum of all approved authorizations within the cadence you specified on the Velocity Control. Daily, weekly, and monthly Velocity Control cadences are available at the Payment Card or Card Product level.

The following table describes the available Velocity Control Rule Windows:

Velocity Rule WindowDescription
DailyA single calendar day, 00:00:00 UTC to 11:59.59:00 UTC
WeeklyA single calendar week, UTC start of week (Monday) to UTC end of week (Sunday)
MonthlyA calendar month, UTC start of month to UTC end of month
Ninety days90 calendar days moving window. One calendar day is from 00:00:00 UTC to 11:59.59:00 UTC
YearlyA calendar year, UTC start of year to UTC end of year
Per transactionVelocity Rule is evaluated on every transaction individually

Create Velocity Control

An Amount Spend Rule, or cumulative rule, is required to create a Velocity Control.

Once you've made your Spend Rule(s), you can also create Velocity Control(s) and link them to the Spend Rules. When a Spend Rule is connected to a Velocity Control, it adds up all the allowed transactions that meet the Spend Rule's conditions during a specific time. You can connect up to three Spend Rules to one Velocity Control.

For example, let's say you connect a Spend Rule for spending up to $1,000 and another for limiting airline purchases. If these are set within a monthly Velocity Control, any total monthly spending on airline tickets above $1,000 will be rejected. Only the specific rules you set in the Velocity Control will be counted for this monthly spending limit; other types of purchases won't add up. All the rules in the Velocity Control must be true for the spending to be added together.

Use the following mutation to create a Velocity Control:

Attach Velocity Control to a Card Product

Similar to Spend Rules, Velocity Controls can be attached to a Card Product. Attaching a Velocity Control and Spend Rule to a Card Product will apply the authorization rule(s) to all Financial Accounts' Payment Cards on your Card Product.

Use the following mutation to create a Velocity Control for a Card Product:

Attach Velocity Control to a Payment Card

Velocity Controls and their associated Spend Rules can be attached to individual Payment Cards. Use the following mutation to attach a Velocity Control to a Payment Card:

Detach Velocity Control from a Card Product

If you update a Spend Rule associated with a Velocity Control, the Spend Rule and Velocity Control will be updated and the Velocity Control cache will reset. Similarly, if you detach and then re-attach a Velocity Control, the balance will reset.

Over time you may need to update the logic of a particular Velocity Control and it’s associated Spend Rules. You can detach a Velocity Control from a Card Product using the following mutation:

Detach Velocity Control from a Payment Card

If you update a Spend Rule associated with a Velocity Control, the Spend Rule and Velocity Control will be updated and the Velocity Control cache will reset. Similarly, if you detach and then re-attach a Velocity Control, the balance will reset.

You can detach a Velocity Control from a Payment Card using the following mutation:

List Velocity Controls

You can query for a list of the Velocity Controls created within your Organization using the following query:

Find Velocity Control Balance

Velocity Controls keep track of how much money has been spent on authorized purchases within a certain time, following the rules you've set. You can check the total amount spent under a Velocity Control on either a Payment Card or a Financial Account. This helps you figure out why an authorization might be turned down. The amounts tracked on the Financial Account relate to Velocity Controls connected to the Card Product, and the amounts on the Payment Card relate to Velocity Controls linked to that specific card.

Use the following query to find Velocity Control balance:

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