Who sees which reconciliation figures?

Each party sees its own. Views are scoped by merchant, by program manager and across programs, so a merchant sees its statement, a program manager sees the merchants it runs, and the operator sees the whole network. Every action taken on the data should also be logged with a timestamp, so auditors can follow how a figure was reached.

Scoped views

A payment network has several layers: the operator, program managers or resellers running groups of merchants, and the merchants themselves. Each needs reconciliation data, and none should see the others'. Views are scoped accordingly: a merchant sees its own statement, a program manager sees the merchants it runs, the operator sees the whole network. Figures are the same at every level; only the perimeter changes.

What scoping covers

• Transactions, refunds, chargebacks and fees.
• Settlements and payouts.
• Exceptions and their resolution.
• Exports, which respect the same perimeter.

The audit requirement

Seeing figures is one thing; proving how they were reached is another. Every action taken on reconciliation data, a manual match, a withdrawal, a correction, should be logged with a timestamp and a user, and the log should be exportable. Auditors, acquirers and merchants disputing a payout can then follow the chain from the settlement file to the statement. Scoping protects confidentiality between parties; logging protects the integrity of what each of them sees.