A split-shipment payment is useful for processing payments for orders that include multiple products that are split into multiple shipments. For example, an order might be split into different shipments because:
  • One or more items included in an order are not immediately available for shipment.
  • Different items included in an order are shipped from different locations.
  • Different items includes in an order need to be shipped to different locations.
Split-shipment payments enable you to split an order into multiple shipments using multiple captures. You are able to request multiple captures for one authorization, multiple authorizations and one capture, or an authorization and a sale.

Benefits of Using Split Shipments

There are some benefits to processing a split-shipment payment:
  • In an order where one or more items is not immediately available for shipment, shipping the available item immediately is better than holding up the delivery of the entire order.
  • The transactions for the split-shipment order are linked together in the Business Center and in reports.
  • When you split an order into multiple shipments with multiple captures,
    Cybersource
     requests the additional authorizations for you.

Requirements for Processing Split Shipments

Services:
  • Authorization
  • Capture
Prerequisite:
  • Contact customer support to have your account configured for this feature.
    A Visa Platform Connect account can only be enabled for either the multiple captures or split shipments feature, but not both.

Additional Authorizations

When you need an additional authorization for an order, you can use the
link-to-request
 field to link follow-on authorizations to the original authorization in addition to the basic fields required for every authorization request. The follow-on authorization is linked to the original authorization in the
Business Center
 and in reports. The captures for these authorizations are also linked to the original authorization in the
Business Center
 and in reports.
For an additional authorization on a processor that supports merchant-initiated transactions, the authorization request must include the subsequent authorization fields that are required for merchant-initiated transactions.

Obtaining the Status of a System-Generated Authorization

A system-generated authorization is not performed in real time. The response message that you receive indicates that the request was received, not whether it was approved or declined.
A system-generated authorization can be declined for the same reasons that a regular authorization can be declined.
Cybersource
 recommends you use one of following methods to obtain the status of the system-generated authorization request before shipping the product:
  • Business Center
    : use the capture request ID to search for the follow-on capture. The details for all related transactions are displayed on the
    Transaction Details
     page. It can take a maximum of 6 hours for the status of the system-generated authorization request to be available.
  • Transaction Detail API: you must use version 1.3 or later of the report and include the parameter
    includeExtendedDetail
     in your query. It can take a maximum of 6 hours for the status of the system-generated authorization request to be available.
  • Transaction Exception Detail Report:
    Cybersource
     recommends you use this report on a daily basis to identify transactions that were declined.

Additional Captures

When you need an additional capture for an order,
Cybersource
 performs a system-generated authorization for additional capture requests using the payment data from the original authorization. The system-generated authorization is linked to the original authorization in the
Business Center
 and in reports. The captures are linked to the authorizations in the
Business Center
 and in reports through the request IDs as with any capture.

Split Shipments Payment Methods

Cybersource
 provides the split shipment services for authorizations and captures. There are three methods and associated actions you can take:
  • Method 1: Multiple Authorizations
     use this method when handling split shipments for a product that is not yet available. For this method, you process multiple authorization transactions.
  • Method 2: Multiple Captures
    use this method when an order is placed for multiple products and one is not available. For this method, you process multiple capture transactions.
  • Method 3: Multiple Authorizations and Captures
     use this method when an order is placed for multiple products that are not yet available for immediate shipment. For this method, you process multiple authorization and capture transactions.

Workflow: Authorizing a Sale for a Product Not Yet Available

When the customer purchases a product that is not yet available, you can request an authorization and a sale. First request an authorization to ensure that funds are available. After the product becomes available, ship the product and request a sale.
Cybersource
 then links the follow-on authorization to the first authorization, and then links to the capture request.

Figure:

Authorizing a Sale for a Product Not Yet Available
Request an authorization to ensure that funds are available before the product is available for immediate shipment. The authorization request requires no additional fields or requirements than a basic authorization.
When the product becomes available, ship the product and request a sale. The follow-on authorization requires you to submit a sale request that includes the
requestID
 field in addition to the basic fields required for every sale request. The
requestID
 field in an authorization request triggers the split-shipment functionality.
Set the field to the value from the
requestID
 field from the first authorization’s response.
Field Specific to authorizing a sale for a product not yet available:
First Authorization Response Message:
requestID=SWVdPS5IM
Follow-on Authorization Request:
linkToRequest=SWVdPS5IM
Step 3:
Cybersource
 attempts to link the follow-on authorization request to the first authorization
  • If the value is valid, the follow-on authorization is linked to the original authorization in the Business Center and in reports.
  • If the value is not valid, the follow-on authorization is not linked to the original authorization in the
    Business Center
     and in reports.
Step 4:
Cybersource
 links the capture request
  • If the
    linkToRequest
     value for the follow-on authorization was valid, all three transactions (first authorization, follow-on authorization, capture) are linked together in the
    Business Center
     and in reports.
  • If the
    linkToRequest
     value for the follow-on authorization was not valid, the second authorization and capture are linked to each other in the
    Business Center
     and in reports, but they are not linked to the first authorization.