Auth Optimization
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Before optimizing auth rates, ensure you have:
- Access to processor dashboard with auth rate and decline code visibility
- Understanding of payments metrics and your current baseline
- Familiarity with 3DS concepts (impacts auth rate)
- Knowledge of your transaction types (CIT vs MIT, recurring vs one-time)
- Baseline first: CNP e-commerce averages 85-90%, best-in-class hits 95%+. Know yours before optimizing
- Network tokens: +2-5% auth lift; tokenized credentials outperform raw PANs with issuers
- Retry logic: Soft declines (51, 91) = retry in 3-5 days; hard declines (41, 43, 54) = never retry
- 3DS exemptions: Request TRA, low-value, recurring exemptions where you qualify
- Flag correctly: MIT vs. CIT matters. Wrong flags = higher declines
Popular in This Section
- Optimization Tactics - Network tokens, retry logic, 3DS exemptions, and transaction flags
- Increase Auth Rates Playbook - Step-by-step guide to improving approval rates
- Decline Codes Reference - Understanding why transactions fail and what to do
Your auth rate is revenue. Every 1% improvement in approval rate is 1% more money. Most SMBs don't know their auth rate. When asked, they guess high.
Reality: CNP e-commerce averages 85-90% auth rates. Best-in-class hits 95%+. The gap between those numbers is real money you're not collecting.
What Matters
- Know your auth rate. Can't fix what you don't measure.
- Network tokens lift approval 2-5%. Tokenized credentials perform better with issuers.
- Retry logic matters. Wrong retries burn issuer trust. Right retries recover revenue.
- 3DS is a lever, not just compliance. Used well, it improves auth. Used badly, it kills conversion.
- Issuer declines have patterns. Learn your top decline reasons and fix the fixable ones.
Auth Optimization Topics
Know Your Auth Rate
Before optimizing, baseline.
How to Calculate
Auth Rate = Approved Transactions / Total Attempted Transactions × 100
What's Normal
| Business Type | Typical Auth Rate | Best-in-Class |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce (US domestic) | 85-90% | 95%+ |
| Subscription (initial) | 80-85% | 90%+ |
| Subscription (recurring) | 90-95% | 97%+ |
| Card-present (CP) | 98-99% | 99%+ |
| International CNP | 75-85% | 90%+ |
If you're below "typical," there's low-hanging fruit.
Where to Find It
Check your processor dashboard. Look for:
- "Authorization rate" or "Approval rate"
- Filter by: card brand, card type, geography, transaction type
"Where can I see our overall auth rate? Can I filter by card brand and geography?"
Quick Reference: Decline Types
| Type | Examples | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Soft decline | Insufficient funds (51), Issuer unavailable (91) | Retry in 3-5 days |
| Hard decline | Lost card (41), Stolen (43), Expired (54) | Do not retry |
| Ambiguous | Do not honor (05) | Try once more, then stop |
See Optimization Tactics for detailed handling.
Scale Callout
| Volume | Focus |
|---|---|
| Under $100k/mo | Know your auth rate. Ensure basic retry logic is sane. Enable 3DS for high-risk only. |
| $100k-$1M/mo | Monthly decline code analysis. 3DS exemption strategy. Network token migration. |
| Over $1M/mo | Issuer-level optimization. Dedicated auth rate monitoring. A/B test 3DS strategies. Multiple processor routing for auth lift. |
Where This Breaks
-
International transactions. Cross-border declines are structurally higher. Local acquiring helps but adds complexity.
-
High-risk MCCs. Some industries have elevated decline rates regardless of optimization. Issuers are more conservative.
-
New merchants without history. Issuers trust merchants with track records. New accounts face higher decline rates until they build history.
Analyst Layer: Metrics to Track
| Metric | What It Tells You | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Overall auth rate | Baseline health | Over 90% US domestic CNP |
| Auth rate by card brand | Network-specific issues | Visa/MC should be similar |
| Auth rate by geography | Cross-border friction | Domestic > international |
| Soft vs. hard decline ratio | Retry opportunity | Soft should be over 50% of declines |
| Retry success rate | Retry logic effectiveness | Over 20% of soft declines recovered |
| 3DS challenge rate | Friction level | Under 20% of 3DS transactions challenged |
| 3DS conversion rate | Challenge completion | Over 80% complete challenge |
Trend Over Snapshot
Auth rate fluctuates. Track weekly trend, not daily snapshot.
A 0.5% week-over-week decline is a signal. A 0.5% daily swing is noise.
Next Steps
Just starting auth optimization?
- Pull your current auth rate from your processor dashboard → Baseline before optimizing
- Identify your top 5 decline codes → Focus fixes on highest-impact issues
- Check if you're using network tokens → If not, migrate stored cards to tokens
Ready to improve?
- Review optimization tactics → Network tokens, retry logic, 3DS
- Follow the increase auth rates playbook → Step-by-step optimization
- Implement smart retry logic → Recover soft declines without burning issuer trust
Already optimizing?
- Set up weekly auth rate monitoring → Track trends, not snapshots
- Segment by card brand and geography → Find specific weak spots
- Consider multi-processor routing → Route to best-performing processor by issuer
See Also
- Optimization Tactics - Detailed optimization techniques
- 3DS Deep Dive - Authentication optimization
- Increase Auth Rates Playbook - Step-by-step guide
- Subscriptions and Recurring - Recurring billing
- Checkout Conversion - Reducing abandonment
- Decline Codes Reference - Understanding failures
- Payments Metrics - Performance tracking