Payment Processing

Here you’ll learn how a transaction moves through its lifecycle—from the initial authorization or auth+capture, to potential partial captures, voids, and final settlement. By combining the concepts of “Transaction” (the high-level record of payment, refund, or chargeback) with “Operations” (the actions that change its state), SanctusPay offers a transparent, step-by-step approach to managing payments at every stage.

Transaction

A Transaction is the primary record representing the movement of funds—be it a payment, refund, or chargeback. Each transaction includes essential details like a unique ID, a merchant-specific external reference ID, its type (PAYMENT, REFUND, or CHARGEBACK), and the associated amount and currency. This high-level entity serves as the core reference for all subsequent actions, providing a clear overview of the payment’s lifecycle.

Operation

An Operation is a discrete event describing a specific action taken on a transaction (such as authorization, capture, or void). Each operation references the associated transaction, includes the operation type (authorize, refund, etc.), and records relevant data like amount, currency, origin, and timestamps. Together, operations form a detailed audit trail of every step in the transaction’s lifecycle.

Relationship & Lifecycle

• Transaction as the “Container” A Transaction identifies the overall movement of funds—whether it’s a payment, refund, or chargeback. It stores details like transaction ID, external reference, amount, and currency.

• Operations as “Actions” Each Operation records a specific event in the transaction’s lifecycle—such as authorize, capture, void, or expire. An operation references its parent transaction, tracks the amount involved, and notes the context (origin, timestamps, etc.).

• Chronological Progression Together, multiple operations form a timeline for a single transaction. For example, a transaction may start with authorize, transition to partial_capture, and eventually end with a settle operation. At every step, the transaction’s status updates to reflect the latest successful operation.

• Final Status Determination The most recent operation typically dictates the transaction’s current status (e.g., AUTHORIZED, CAPTURED, VOIDED, SETTLED). By examining the sequence of operations, one can audit the transaction’s complete journey from initiation to final resolution.

Key Takeaway

By keeping Transactions and Operations separate, SanctusPay’s system provides merchants with a transparent, granular view of the payment journey—ensuring that every authorization, capture, or void can be monitored from initiation to final settlement.