Can I keep a contract active while excluding it from specific cases?
Exclusion rules act as a restriction layer on top of the contract configuration, and they take precedence over activation status. Supported parameters include amount, authorization currency, IP country, issuer country, issuer, list, merchant data, merchant store ID, sales channel, payment method name and payment method type. When an exclusion rule matches the operational context, routing and execution leave that contract aside. Every change is written to the audit logs.
In detail
Yes. Exclusion rules act as a restriction layer on top of the contract configuration, and they take precedence over activation status. The contract stays active, but routing and execution leave it aside whenever an exclusion rule matches the operational context.
Supported parameters
- Amount.
- Authorization currency.
- IP country and issuer country.
- Issuer.
- List.
- Merchant data and merchant store ID.
- Sales channel.
- Payment method name and payment method type.
Typical uses
A merchant can keep a provider for domestic cards while excluding it for foreign issuers, stop sending a currency the provider prices poorly, keep a specific store on another provider, or exclude a payment method type the contract technically supports but should not carry. Lists let exclusions target sets of values maintained in one place.
Why exclusions beat deactivation
Deactivating a contract removes it from every flow, which is rarely what the situation calls for. Exclusions are precise: the contract keeps carrying the traffic it is good at and stops receiving the rest.
Every change to an exclusion rule is written to the audit logs, with the user behind it. Combined with routing rules and the dependency view on each contract, exclusions give your merchants fine control over provider usage without rebuilding their routing logic.