Merchant-initiated transaction
A card payment the merchant initiates without the cardholder present, under an agreement made earlier.
A merchant-initiated transaction is a card payment that the merchant initiates without the cardholder taking part at that moment, based on an agreement the cardholder made earlier, such as a subscription, an instalment or a charge for a no-show. Card scheme rules define how such payments are flagged and linked to the original agreement, and European supervisors have treated payments initiated only by the payee as outside the scope of strong customer authentication. Agent purchases made while the customer is absent raise similar questions about what the earlier agreement must contain.
Agent Minute explains this term on 28 November 2026.
Related terms
Human-not-present transactionA purchase an agent completes while the user is absent, relying on authority the user granted in advance.Open mandateIn AP2, a mandate not yet bound to one action, carrying the user's constraints for the agent to act within.Strong customer authenticationAuthentication using two or more independent elements from knowledge, possession and inherence.Card-not-present transactionA card payment where the card is not physically presented to the merchant, such as online or in-app.