What is the difference between a CIT and an MIT?
A CIT (customer-initiated transaction) is a card payment the cardholder starts and takes part in, in store or online. An MIT (merchant-initiated transaction) is a payment the merchant starts later on a stored card, without the cardholder present, under an agreement given during an earlier CIT. The flag changes authentication, liability and retry rules.
In detail
A CIT is a payment the cardholder triggers. An MIT is a payment the merchant triggers on a stored credential, with no cardholder action at that moment.
How to tell them apart
- Presence: the cardholder is in the session for a CIT and absent for an MIT.
- Authentication: a CIT can be challenged with 3-D Secure. An MIT cannot, so it relies on the authentication of the first payment.
- Data: an MIT has no CVV and should carry the scheme reference of the original CIT.
- Examples: a checkout payment or a one-click purchase is a CIT. A subscription renewal, an installment or a no-show fee is an MIT.
Why the flag matters
Issuers use the flag to decide how to treat the request. A renewal sent as a CIT may trigger a challenge nobody can answer. A checkout payment sent as an MIT skips an authentication the issuer expects. Both cases reduce approval rates and weaken the merchant’s position in a dispute.
The full mechanism is explained in CIT vs MIT. Operators that run recurring billing for merchants usually handle the flags inside a subscription engine, so that each renewal is sent with the right initiator, reason and reference.