This article will guide merchants through understanding and approving or declining transactions triggered by Advance Fraud Detection Suite (AFDS) filters.

Transactions in the Pending Review and Authorized/Pending Review states on Authorize.net can be manually reviewed and either approved or declined from the Transaction Detail page.

Pending Review Transactions

Transactions placed in Pending Review have not yet been submitted for authorization. After reviewing, you can either approve or decline the transaction. Approved transactions are sent for authorization and processed as normal. Declined transactions aren't sent for authorization but are stored in the Authorize.net payment gateway as a Decline.  If an Pending Review transaction isn't approved or voided within 5 days of submittal, the transaction is marked as Expired and isn't available for settlement.

To approve a transaction in Pending Review:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface.
2. Click Suspicious Transactions in the main left side menu.
3. Select a Transaction Filter from the Fraud Filter drop-down list if desired. Or, to include all transaction filters in your search, select All Fraud Filters.
4. Select Fraud Detection Suite (FDS) - Pending Review from the Transaction Status drop-down list.
5. Select a date or date range from the Start Date and End Date drop-down list(s) if desired.
6. Click Search. The Suspicious Transaction Search Results page appears.
7. Click the Transaction ID.
8. Click Approve. A message window appears asking if you want to continue with the approval.
9. Click OK to continue or click Cancel to cancel the action.

The transaction is sent for settlement and the Transaction Status page appears displaying the Transaction ID and the Transaction Status.

Note: If you need to reverse a previously approved transaction, you can void it on the Unsettled Transactions page. If the transaction has already been sent for settlement, you can perform a refund in the Virtual Terminal.

To decline a transaction in Pending Review:

1. Click Decline. A message window appears asking if you want to continue with the decline.
2. Click OK to continue or click Cancel to cancel the action.

No further action can be taken for a declined transaction. To submit a previously declined transaction for settlement, a new transaction must be entered and authorized.

Authorized/Pending Review Transactions

Transactions placed in Authorized/Pending Review have been authorized by the processor but not yet submitted for settlement. After reviewing, you can either approve or void the transaction. If an Authorized/Pending Review transaction isn't approved or voided within 30 days of submittal, the transaction is marked as Expired and isn't available for settlement.

To approve a transaction in Authorized/Pending Review:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface.
2. Click Suspicious Transactions in the main left side menu.
3. Select a Transaction Filter from the Fraud Filter drop-down list if desired. Or, to include all transaction filters in your search, select All Fraud Filters.
4. Select FDS – Authorized/Pending Review from the Transaction Status drop-down list.
5. Select a date or date range from the Start Date and End Date drop-down list(s) if desired.
6. Click Search. The Suspicious Transaction Search Results page appears.
7. Click the Transaction ID.
8. Click Approve. A message window appears asking if you want to continue with the approval.
9. Click OK to continue or click Cancel to cancel the action.

The transaction is sent for settlement and the Transaction Status page appears displaying the Transaction ID and Transaction Status.

Note: If you need to reverse a previously approved transaction, you can void it on the Unsettled Transactions page. If the transaction has already been sent for settlement, you can perform a refund in the Virtual Terminal.

To void a transaction in Authorized/Pending Review:

1. Click Void. A message window appears asking if you want to continue with the void.
2. Click OK to continue or click Cancel to cancel the action.

The Transaction Status page appears displaying the Transaction ID and the Transaction Status. No further action can be taken for a voided transaction. To submit a previously voided transaction for settlement, a new transaction must be entered and authorized.