[In-Development] Enrichments

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This feature is in 'alpha' and not yet publicly available. The information below and in subpages is subject to change as specifications are finalized.

Introduction

Enrichments provides incremental detail on top of the standard data provided in a transaction. Standard card transaction data – also known as Level 1 (L1) data – consists of basic information about the transaction, such as the amount, merchant, time and card number. Depending on its type, enriched data may provide additional information on tax amounts, departure and destination airports or item level detail about the purchase.

Astrada provides Enrichments for certain transactions. This document will outline the type of data, in which cases it will be available and how you can check whether a card is eligible for it.

Types of Enrichment

Enrichments give more granular information about a purchase than is provided in the Transaction Message. There are many sources of additional data, including, but not limited to:

Source of dataDescription of the dataExample of data providers
L2/ L3Deeper card transaction data that are sent at the card network level. It provides extensive data about the purchase, such as details about the hotel stays and flight tickets.Card networks such as Visa and Mastercard
Merchant and locationAdditional context about the merchant, such as the merchant’s website and cleaned merchant nameGoogle Maps
SKUItem level data about the purchase, such as product name, unit cost, and quantity purchasedAmazon Business API

Astrada currently sources L2/ L3 data from the card networks. Other types of enrichments may be available in the future.

L1, L2 and L3 Data

Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 data refer to different sets of information associated with card payments and provide incremental detail about the transaction.

  • Level 1 data refers to the basic information required for any card transaction, such as the card number, amount, date and merchant name. This is the information you receive in the Transaction Message.
  • Level 2 data includes additional information beyond the basic details of Level 1, for example tax amount and merchant postal code. It is often associated with corporate or purchasing card transactions.
  • Level 3 data is the most detailed and comprehensive set of information, primarily used for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. It includes line-item details for each product or service purchased, facilitating more detailed reporting and analysis.

It is not mandatory for merchants to submit L2 and L3 data for all transactions. The decision to include this data is often influenced by factors such as the nature of the transaction, the types of products or services involved, and the preferences of the merchant. Providing more detailed information about a transaction (L2 and L3 data) can qualify the transaction for lower interchange fees. This can be a significant cost-saving for merchants, especially in B2B transactions where the amounts involved can be substantial.

When is L2/ L3 data available?

Generally, the following factors need to be met in order for L2/ L3 data to be available via Astrada:

  • The card must be an L2/ L3 eligible commercial card and be onboarded to Astrada via commercial card enrollment flows
  • The spend category must be one that Astrada supports (Lodging and Passenger Transport - Airline to begin with)
  • The transaction needs to be made at a merchant that participates in L2/ L3 Processing

Not all commercial cards are eligible for L2/ L3 data. Eligibility will differ by issuer, geography and card type. For Mastercard commercial card programs, you can check via the Mastercard BIN Lookup, enabling you to determine whether L2/ L3 data is available for this card.

For Visa, the eligibility needs to be checked with the Issuer.

Spend Categories

There are different types of spend categories for which L2/ L3 data can be provided. The first category to be supported by Astrada's platform will be Lodging, followed by Passenger Transport - Airline. Other categories may be supported in the future.

CategoryDescription
LodgingLodging accommodations and related expenses
Passenger Transport - AirlineAirline tickets, with leg-by-leg breakdown
Passenger Transport - RailRailway tickets, with leg-by-leg breakdown
Vehicle RentalVehicle rentals, including rental company and rental agreement
FleetFleet card payment, including fuel type, quantity, and unit costs
SaleGoods and services included in the sale, including line item quantity and unit price
InvoiceInvoice data, such as invoice number, payment due date, and total amount
ShippingShipping or courier services data, such as delivery date, tracking number, and package weight
Telecom ServicesTelephony billing data, such as statement start/end date, call to/from, and usage amount
Temporary ServicesServices rendered on a temporary / contract basis, such as regular/overtime hours worked, hourly rate, and name of employee

Object Relationship

Enrichments are only provided for financial messages, i.e. those network messages that indicate money movement. Learn more about the transaction life cycle in Home or see the different message types.

API

Astrada is planning to provide the following endpoints to retrieve Enrichments:

GET /transaction-messages/{transactionMessageId}/enrichments
Returns a list of enrichments for a transaction message.