Visa Account Updater Service

Visa Account Updater (VAU) is a service offered by Visa that allows issuers to advise mechants of changes to a cardholder's details. This service minimises the occurrence of outdated card information for a cardholder that could lead to declined transactions. Card information can become out-of-date as the result of account closures, cards reported as lost or destroyed, expiration date changes, and portfolio conversions.

VAU is also useful where cardholders use recurring transactions that do not rely on them to provide the CVV2 value, for example, subscription services. For a recurring transaction, the merchant relies on the correct PAN, Expiry date and AVS data each time it is triggered. If the card details change, for example a card is replaced and the merchant's system hasn't been updated, the transaction will decline. VAU ensures that the card scheme receives up-to-date card data to ensure smooth processing of transactions.

For program managers on the Mastercard network, Thredd offers similar functionality using the Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater (ABU) service Mastercard's Automatic Billing Updater (ABU) is a service that automatically updates card information for recurring payments and stored card details. it can be used can be used for updating card information in cases such as expired cards, replaced cards and changes in billing address..

How the VAU Service Works

VAU processes inquiries against its database and provides responses to the acquirer. Visa only responds to specific data elements within an inquiry file or an API call from a qualified merchant. The acquirer forwards the responses within two business days to the requesting merchants, who must then update on-file accounts before requesting an authorization.

The following shows an example scenario and the communication flow for VAU.

The following month after expiration, Example Film Rental Company attempts to bill Dave using the details they have on file and sends an authorisation. Because the status at Thredd of the old card is expired, the transaction is declined. However, when the transaction reaches Visa, they review their VAU database and change the fields in the authorisation from the old data to the new data before passing it onto Thredd. This then allows the transaction to be approved.

VAU Service Communication Flow

The following diagram shows the main parties involved in the communication flow for the VAU service, which include the merchant, the acquirer, the card scheme, and the issuer.

Figure: Visa Account Updater Communication Flow

Issuer sends updates to VAU. When a card issuer re-issues a card due to expiration, loss, or other reasons, they submit the new account number and expiration date to VAU. Note that this happens via Thredd.
The Merchant makes inquirers to VAU through the acquirers of the customer's stored credentials before the billing cycle.
VAU processes these inquiries against the updates received from the issuers and checks for any changes in the card information.
If updated information is available, VAU sends the new details to the acquirers.
The acquirers then update the merchant's billing system.
The merchant uses the updated information to ensure that recurring payments are processed smoothly without interruptions

Updated Details in a VAU Service

The following table describes the updated details that the issuer provides to the VAU service.

Update Type	Description
Account Number	A change in the account number.
Expiry Date	A change in the card expiry date.
Closed Account	Details of card accounts that have closed.
Contact Cardholder Advice	The cardholder needs to be contacted to get information on out-of-date details held by the merchant. When a Contact Cardholder Advice is sent, account updates are not made to VAU, as the cardholder is contacted about their old details. The issuer submits the advice on the old account when the PAN is replaced but never on a valid PAN. The cardholder may choose to be contacted for several reasons, such as their need to have control over their payment information, privacy or security concerns, or to avoid certain charges. Note that an issuer can send a Contact Cardholder Advice for a cardholder that has opted out of VAU, instead of sending new card details.
Opt Out	If the cardholder doesn't want to use the VAU service, they can opt out of the service. Acquirers will need to update their systems to include the Opt Out code. The card scheme will wait until the acquirer confirms that they are ready to receive the new Opt Out code.
Opt In	If an opted out customer wants to use the VAU service again, they can choose to opt in to the service.

Setting up the VAU Service

To set up VAU, contact Thredd's implementation team.

Once set up, you can manage VAU for your cardholders by opting them in/out using Thredd Web Services or the Cards API.

For Thredd Web Services, you can set the OptOut flag in the Ws_Update_Cardholder_Details_V2 web service. Setting to 1 opts the cardholder out of VAU, while setting to 0 opts the cardholder in. For more details, refer to the Update Cardholder Details v2 page.
For the Cards API, the Retrieve Card and Update Card endpoints include the NetworkSharingOptOut parameter. Setting to true opts the cardholder in, while setting to false opts them out. For more details, refer to the Release Notes for the 22nd of February.

Region Availability

The VAU service is available globally.