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Processor Reporting Checklist (Operator Field Manual)

If you cannot see it, you cannot fix it. Demand these reports and alerts before tuning fraud or checkout.

Minimum Reporting You Should Demand

  • Auth rate by issuer BIN, brand, method (CP vs CNP split).
  • Soft vs hard decline breakdown.
  • 3DS challenge rate and conversion.
  • Chargeback ratio by reason code and distance to thresholds.
  • Fraud-to-dispute linkage (TC40/SAFE match rate) where available.
  • Refund rate and timing.
  • Settlement timing and holds visibility.
  • Alert match rate if using CDRN/Ethoca.

Notifications to Configure (Operator POV)

  • Chargeback/dispute alerts (immediate).
  • Large transaction threshold alerts.
  • Failed transaction spike alerts.
  • Deposit/settlement confirmations.
  • Account health warnings (approaching network thresholds).
  • Reserve changes.
  • KYC/KYB document requests.

The 3 Reports to Check Weekly

  • Auth rate trend (by BIN/brand/geo/method); investigate drops.
  • Chargeback ratio trend and distance to threshold.
  • Settlement/deposit timing vs expected schedule; flag delays.

Ask Your Processor (Operator Questions)

  • “What reports and alerts are available by default?”
  • “Can I export raw declines with reason codes and BIN?”
  • “Do alerts go to multiple recipients? How do we add a backup?”
  • “Where do webhook failures show up?”

Scale Callout

  • Under $100k/mo: Minimum reports + chargeback alerts + deposit confirmations.
  • $100k–$1M/mo: Add BIN-level auth, soft vs hard decline tracking, weekly review cadence.
  • Over $1M/mo: Daily monitoring, alert routing redundancy, webhook plus email.

Where This Breaks

  • No BIN/issuer detail; you cannot target fixes.
  • Alerts sent to one inbox; spam filtering hides them.
  • Webhooks unmonitored; silent failures.
  • Processor refuses data access; note for next contract renegotiation.

Next Steps

Setting up processor reporting?

  1. Demand minimum reports - Auth, declines, chargebacks
  2. Configure notifications - Alerts, thresholds
  3. Ask your processor - What's available

Building weekly review process?

  1. Check 3 reports weekly - Auth, chargebacks, settlement
  2. Scale by volume - Right-sized approach
  3. Watch for breakdowns - No BIN detail, silent failures

Need more detail?

  1. Review payments metrics - Full KPI list
  2. Set up experimentation - Testing framework
  3. Configure alerts - Monitoring setup