When issuing a new gift card to a shopper, you need to make an activation request before the shopper can use the card for transactions. While activating the gift card, you can also load an initial balance.
Gift card activation is also a fraud protection tool. If the card is not active, the shopper can't redeem it.
Before you begin
Before you make any gift card transactions, make sure that you have:
- Built an integration that can make a payment.
- Completed the onboarding process with your gift card provider.
- Added the payment method to your Adyen account.
Make an activation request
To activate a gift card:
- Determine the card entry method:
- If you want to scan the card, do that first and use the obtained card details in your request.
- If you want to swipe the card or use manual keyed entry (MKE), send the request first. The payment terminal will show a prompt to swipe the card or enter the card details.
-
Make a POST request to a Terminal API endpoint, specifying:
-
MessageHeader
: This follows the standardMessageHeader
structure, explained in Terminal API fundamentals, which includes:ProtocolVersion
: 3.0MessageCategory
: StoredValueMessageType
: RequestSaleID
: Your unique ID for the cash register.ServiceID
: Your unique ID for this transaction attempt. This needs to be unique within the last 48 hours.-
POIID
: Unique ID of the terminal. This indicates which terminal the transaction will be routed to.
-
StoredValueRequest
: The request body for the activation request must include:SaleData.SaleTransactionID.TransactionID
: Your unique reference for this request.SaleData.SaleTransactionID.TimeStamp
: Date and time of the request, in UTC format.StoredValueData.StoredValueTransactionType
: Activate-
StoredValueData.StoredValueAccountID
: The gift card details:StoredValueAccountType
: GiftCardStoredValueProvider
: The gift card issuer: givex, svs, valuelink, or any Intersolve-supported card type.IdentificationType
: PAN-
EntryMode
,StoredValueID
andExpiryDate
: These parameters depend on the card entry method you are using.Card entry Parameters Scan EntryMode
: ScannedStoredValueID
: Gift card number.ExpiryDate
: Expiry date of the gift card.
Swipe EntryMode
: MagStripe
MKE EntryMode
: KeyedStoredValueID
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
StoredValueData.ItemAmount
: Initial balance being loaded to the gift card.-
StoredValueData.Currency
: Currency of the initial balance.
The example below shows how you would activate a scanned gift card, adding an initial balance of 10.00 GBP.
For more information on the Terminal API request structure, refer to the Terminal API fundamentals.
{ "SaleToPOIRequest":{ "MessageHeader":{ "MessageType":"Request", "MessageClass":"Service", "MessageCategory":"StoredValue", "SaleID":"POSSystemID12345", "POIID":"V400m-324688179", "ProtocolVersion":"3.0", "ServiceID":"9264" }, "StoredValueRequest":{ "SaleData":{ "SaleTransactionID":{ "TransactionID":"44738", "TimeStamp":"2019-09-29T14:44:32+00:00" } }, "StoredValueData":[ { "StoredValueTransactionType":"Activate", "StoredValueAccountID":{ "StoredValueAccountType":"GiftCard", "StoredValueProvider":"svs", "IdentificationType":"PAN", "EntryMode":[ "Scanned" ], "StoredValueID":"6006491260550218066", "ExpiryDate":"1122" }, "ItemAmount":10.00, "Currency":"GBP" } ] } } }
String saleID = "YOUR_CASH_REGISTER_ID"; String POIID = "YOUR_TERMINAL_ID"; String serviceID = "YOUR_UNIQUE_ATTEMPT_ID"; String transactionID = "YOUR_UNIQUE_TRANSACTION_ID"; SaleToPOIRequest saleToPOIRequest = new SaleToPOIRequest(); MessageHeader messageHeader = new MessageHeader(); messageHeader.setMessageType( MessageType.REQUEST ); messageHeader.setMessageClass( MessageClassType.SERVICE ); messageHeader.setMessageCategory( MessageCategoryType.STORED_VALUE ); messageHeader.setSaleID(saleID); messageHeader.setPOIID(POIID); messageHeader.setProtocolVersion("3.0"); messageHeader.setServiceID(serviceID); saleToPOIRequest.setMessageHeader(messageHeader); StoredValueRequest storedValueRequest = new StoredValueRequest(); SaleData saleData = new SaleData(); TransactionIdentification saleTransactionID = new TransactionIdentification(); saleTransactionID.setTransactionID(transactionID); saleTransactionID.setTimeStamp(DatatypeFactory.newInstance().newXMLGregorianCalendar(new GregorianCalendar())); saleData.setSaleTransactionID(saleTransactionID); storedValueRequest.setSaleData(saleData); StoredValueData storedValueData = new StoredValueData(); storedValueData.setStoredValueTransactionType( StoredValueTransactionType.ACTIVATE ); StoredValueAccountID storedValueAccountID = new StoredValueAccountID(); storedValueAccountID.setStoredValueAccountType( StoredValueAccountType.GIFT_CARD ); storedValueAccountID.setStoredValueProvider("svs"); storedValueAccountID.setIdentificationType( IdentificationType.PAN ); storedValueAccountID.getEntryMode().add( EntryModeType.SCANNED ); storedValueAccountID.setExpiryDate("1122"); storedValueAccountID.setStoredValueID("6006491260550218066"); storedValueData.setStoredValueAccountID(storedValueAccountID); storedValueData.setItemAmount( BigDecimal.valueOf(10.00) ); storedValueData.setCurrency("GBP"); storedValueRequest.setStoredValueData(storedValueData); saleToPOIRequest.setStoredValueRequest(storedValueRequest); terminalAPIRequest.setSaleToPOIRequest(saleToPOIRequest);
-
The activation request is sent to the Adyen payments platform for processing.
Activation response
Once processed, your integration receives an activation result indicating whether the gift card was successfully activated. This is provided in a synchronous API response, unless your integration uses asynchronous cloud communications.
If your integration uses asynchronous cloud communications, you receive the result in a TENDER_FINAL display notification.
If the activation is successful:
-
You receive a response with a
StoredValueResponse
object that includes:POIData.POITransactionID.TransactionID
: Transaction identifier for the gift card activation.-
StoredValueResult
:StoredValueTransactionType
: Activate-
ItemAmount
andCurrency
: Current value and currency associated with the card.
Response.Result
: Success
The example below indicates that the gift card was successfully activated, and an initial balance of 10.00 GBP loaded to the card.
For more information on the Terminal API response structure, refer to the Terminal API fundamentals.
{ "SaleToPOIResponse":{ "StoredValueResponse":{ "POIData":{ "POITransactionID":{ "TimeStamp":"2019-03-26T09:31:29.000Z", "TransactionID":"oLkO001522056689002.9815220566972551" } }, ... "StoredValueResult":[ { "StoredValueTransactionType":"Activate", "ItemAmount":10.00, "Currency":"GBP" } ], "Response":{ "Result":"Success" } }, "MessageHeader":{ "ProtocolVersion":"3.0", "SaleID":"POSSystemID12345", "MessageClass":"Service", "MessageCategory":"StoredValue", "ServiceID":"9264", "POIID":"V400m-324688179", "MessageType":"Response" } } }