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‹Card Data

Merchant Advice Codes

Issuer declines carry an instruction: update credentials, retry later, or stop. PayOS surfaces it.

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What is a MAC?

The issuer’s note in the margin.

Under Mastercard’s Transaction Processing Excellence program, issuers attach a Merchant Advice Code to their response. The decline says no. The MAC says what to do about it.

✓Fix it first. “New account information available” means refresh the credentials, then charge.
✓Stop entirely. Closed accounts, fraud and revoked consent. Every attempt after a hard stop draws a network fee.
✓Know the instrument. Single-use and non-reloadable cards surface before they break a billing relationship.
PayOS card lookup · pre-auth240ms
card5221 74•• •••• 8812
merchantAdviceNew account information available
meaningCard reissued · fresh credentials exist
↓
Your move: refresh credentials, then charge
The card was reissued. Update it and the decline never happens.
The PayOS difference: the MAC before the authorization.
Most teams only see a MAC inside a decline. PayOS surfaces it on a card lookup, at card add or pre-auth, so your first attempt is already the right one.
Before the authorization

The issuer’s advice, in hand before you authorize.

These are the advice codes PayOS returns on a pre-auth lookup. Tap one to see it. No number memorization required.

MERIDIAN BANK
5221 74•• •••• 8812
CARDHOLDER
ALEX RIVERA
09 / 24
NEW CARD ISSUED
reissued or upgraded · fresh credentials exist
New credentials exist
Reissued, upgraded or converted. The old number is stale.
Refresh, then charge
Advice about the amount, not the card?
Retry-timing advice only exists once an amount is attempted. That is Intelligent Retries’ territory.
Intelligent Retries →
Benefits

Fewer junk auths. More approvals.

Right first attempt
Fix credentials and instruments before the auth, not after the decline.
Lower cost per auth
Every attempt the advice rules out is an auth fee you never pay, and no do-not-retry penalties.
Healthier subscriptions
Update credentials before the cycle, and involuntary churn drops.
Better customer moments
“Add a new card” beats a silent failed renewal every time.
Where teams use it

Every stored card has a MAC story.

Card add screening
Catch single-use and non-reloadable cards before they enter a billing relationship.
Expiry & reissue
New credentials exist. Prompt the update before the renewal fails.
Do-not-retry hygiene
Respect the hard stops automatically and never pay a resubmission penalty.
Sanctions & compliance
A sanctions advice is a compliance event. Route it away from collections.
Tokenized portfolios
Know the issuer requires a network token before the charge is attempted.
Product eligibility
Learn a card cannot be billed for a product class before you build the invoice.