
Ask HN: What data points do POS systems send to Credit Card Companies / Banks? - baakss
What are modern POS systems sending to the banks and visa when you make a transaction?<p>Of course there would be the amount charged, but is the itemization from the receipt sent as well? For example, if I bought a $10.83 book, and 83 cents of that was tax, does VISA or my bank actually know that?
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tibbydudeza
POS systems don't do the bank interface anymore ... usually it is a piece of
middleware sits on the POS that is used to control the actual interface to the
bank and the PED (swipe devices).

POS says I need payment to the value of amount ... middleware takes over and
the POS get's back the card number encrypted (PCI) , auth code and cryptogram
if chip (EMV) was used.

Loyalty programs are a different matter altogether , full itemization is sent
to the third party if you are enrolled in a program.

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mjcl
The answer depends on the vendor and your bank. Beyond the basic vendor,
amount and description, some vendors transmit additional details like tax
breakdown, travel class and line-item data. I found a PDF from Wells Fargo[1]
that details some of the information that's transmitted.

On the bank side, I've seen the Level 2/3 information exposed to users of a
purchasing cards (read: company credit cards). On the monthly statements we'd
see line-item details for some vendors, like Best Buy. Travel purchases
included flight segment details, cabin class, etc.

[1] [https://www08.wellsfargomedia.com/assets/pdf/small-
business/...](https://www08.wellsfargomedia.com/assets/pdf/small-
business/merchant/level3.pdf)

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asdf2020
Like most things it depends. Different payment-gateways support different
levels of integration. The highest fidelity ones support itemization. The more
information you provide typically reduces the fee that's applied.

For more information google "Level 2/3 Credit Card Transactions"

