FAQ

This topic provides answers to some frequently asked questions for the Acquiring Partner (ACQP).

Note: AMS refers to Alipay Merchant Service, a set of APIs offered by Global Site for ACQPs to enable Alipay+ payments.

Fund clearing and settlement

Which types of transactions are included in clearing files? Are failed transactions included?

The clearing files include all the successful transactions and successfully refunded transactions.

Failed transactions are not included in the clearing files.

Are clearing files generated based on settlement currencies?

Yes, Alipay+ generates clearing and settlement files based on settlement currencies rather than MPPs.

Meanwhile, Alipay+ provides separated files for AlipayCN and the other MPPs, because AlipayCN has a different settlement cycle from the other MPPs. The two kinds of files have different names but the same structure.

Will all the transactions included in clearing files be settled?

Yes, all the transactions included in the clearing files will be settled, while they might be settled in different settlement batches.

How are settlements handled when transactions are in different MPPs and currencies?

Funds from different MPPs are settled in a single settlement currency. You can specify the settlement currency in Alipay+'s pay API.

Likewise, clearing and settlement files are generated based on settlement currencies rather than MPPs.

On weekends and holidays, do I still receive the settlement as scheduled?

Funds are only settled on working days. A scheduled settlement on weekends or public holidays is postponed to the next working day.

Meanwhile, the settlement date and settlement file generation date are both on T+ 2 working days unless otherwise specified in the contract.

Do settlement files cover the following information: 1. Amount of transaction currency 2. Amount of settlement currency 3. Foreign exchange rate?

Currently, settlement files provide:

Amount of transaction currency
Amount of settlement currency

The foreign exchange rate is not provided.

Are funds from all the MPPs settled as one?

Alipay+ settles the funds from all the MPPs in one batch (Alipay+ provides settlements in batches).

Do clearing transaction files and settlements files have the cutoff of UTC+8 on Alipay+? (Currently on AMS the cutoff is UTC+7)

Yes. Alipay+'s cutoff is UTC+8, while AMS's cutoff remains UTC+7.

When do I receive the settlement? When can I download the settlement files?

The settlement date and settlement file generation date are both on T+ 2 working days unless otherwise specified in the contract.

Where can I download the clearing and settlement files?

You can download these files in a specific directory in SFTP. For more information, see Download reports.

The SFTP username and password are sent to you before the production test.

How often do I receive the settlement (daily, weekly, or monthly)?

You receive the settlement on a daily basis (working days only) when the settlement amount is above the threshold value specified in the contract.

Can I change the settlement frequency from daily to weekly /monthly?

You can only change the settlement frequency with a solid business justification. Please contact your Alipay+ Account Manager for further discussion.

What is the naming convention of Alipay+'s files?

For clearing summary report:

summary_<participantId>_<settlementCurrency>_<clearingBatchId>_<participantAgreementId>_<seq>.csv

For settement report:

settlement_<participantId>_<settlementCurrency>_<settlementBatchId>_<participantAgreementId>_<seq>.csv

What time can I download the clearing files and settlement files each day in SFTP?

Clearing files are uploaded daily by 8 a.m. (UTC+8 ) if there are no special agreements.

Settlement files are uploaded on each settlement day by 10 a.m. (UTC+8) if there are no special agreements.

What is the threshold value of the settlement amount?

Please refer to the contract for details.

Can I still download the settlement file if the settlement amount is under the threshold value specified in the contract?

No. No settlement files are generated in this case.

Can I still download the settlement file if there are no transactions on the settlement day?

In this case, if you do not specify the threshold value in the contract, an empty file will be generated.

Fees and charges

When does Alipay+ charge me the fees, before or after currency conversion?

Interchange fees and service fees are charged before currency conversion (during the payment).

Will Alipay+ still charge me the fees if a payment is canceled, or if a successful payment is revoked?

In these cases, no fees will be charged.

Meanwhile, revoked transactions are excluded from clearing files.

Merchant registration

Which types of merchant information need to be registered with Alipay+?

For AlipayCN, both online and in-store merchant information needs to be registered.

For the other MPPs, only online merchant information needs to be registered.

How to register merchant information with Alipay+?

Use Alipay+'s registration API to register merchant information or update an existing registration.

What is the registration approval rate for each MPP？

For TrueMoney, you need to complete an additional BOT form for online merchants.

KakaoPay has a relatively low approval rate. You can contact your Alipay+ Account Manager to assist you with KakaoPay special approval.

The other wallets may have their own discretion on merchant approval based on local compliance requirements.

How long does it take for each MPP to respond to my registration request?

Most MPPs respond in 1-3 days. KakaoPay and TrueMoney, however, take a longer time to respond.

For KakaoPay, you can contact your Alipay+ Account Manager to assist you with KakaoPay special approval.

For TrueMoney, it takes about one month to respond.

How are my repeated registrations handled?

If Alipay+ does not respond to your original registration request after 7 days, you can then send a repeated request for the same merchant information. Within 7 days from your original request, any repeated registration request will be rejected.

Dispute handling

How does Alipay+ inform the ACQP of chargebacks? Does Alipay+ ever process refunds on the customer's request without going through the refund API request from the ACQP?

Currently, Alipay+ does not process chargebacks via API. You will receive email notifications for disputes and chargebacks.

Alipay+ will not process refunds on the customer's request without going through the refund API request from you.

MPP related

Will I be informed by the MPP when a customer cancels a subscription on the MPP side?

Typically the MPP initiates a request to Alipay+ when a customer cancels a subscription on the MPP side. Alipay+ will forward this request to you via the authNotify API call. Do note that some MPPs have not implemented this feature yet, so before the integration starts please check with our technical support team for the latest status on each MPP.

Will the MPP provide a production MPP account that has funds so that I can run production tests to perform charge and refund transactions?

Alipay+ provides the Alipay+ Linker app for you to run tests. For more information, see Alipay+ Linker Wallet User Guide.

If a merchant wants to have direct communication with the MPP, can the MPP provide reporting requirements that are accepted by the merchant?

This is not supported.

Can the MPP provide the following account profile information: funding source, account balance, average balance, and risk score?

This is not supported.

Can the MPP provide a display name of the user to the merchant? This value does not need to be unique. For example, abc@partner.com.

This is not supported.

Can the MPP provide the customer's identification information, such as email address, MSISDN, or user ID? This value shall uniquely identify the user and always be the same even if the user unbinds and binds again.

We cannot share customers' personal information such as email address, MSISDN, or mobile number. However, a user token is given to you and this token may change if the user unbinds and binds again.

How to request a UAT support request to KakaoPay?

To complete UAT with KakaoPay, please send your UAT request at least one week in advance to the following contacts and also copy William <weilian.lw@antgroup.com> and Frank < frank.piao@antgroup.com>:

To request support for online payment scenarios:

Phillip <phillip.seo@kakaopaycorp.com>
Gerrit <gerrit.cole@kakaopaycorp.com>

To request support for in-store payment scenarios:

Vicky <vicky.lq@kakaopaycorp.com>
Gerrit <gerrit.cole@kakaopaycorp.com>

Please include the following details in your email:

Business background.
Merchant name, expected transaction volume, and merchant onboarding status (Must be onboarded by KakaoPay).
Which kind of UAT support is required? The support may be required for in-store payment (Payment Code, Order Code, and Entry Code) or online payment (Auto Debit or Cashier Payment).
Expected time slot of UAT.

Usually, you will get a response from KakaoPay within 1 to 3 working days. If no response is received after two emails, please escalate to William and copy Frank.

After your request for UAT support is confirmed by KakaoPay, you can send the meeting invitation via DingTalk, ZOOM or Google Meeting for UAT cooperation.

Migration from AlipayCN or AMS

What are the migration steps and considerations?

Migration assessment

Payment scenarios that need to be migrated: User-presented Mode Payment, Merchant-presented Mode Payment, Cashier Payment, and Auto Debit
Apply for and configure FX corridor
Withhold funds to settle refund requests for historical transactions
Support processing multiple sets of clearing files. Alipay+ and AlipayCN provide two separate sets of clearing files.

Migration preparation

Provide a new email address to obtain a PID (partner_id) from AlipayCN and sign migration-related contracts. Alipay+ support tiered fee structure.
Authorize Alipay+ to be your ISV for AlipayCN implementation. You can click the link in the email to complete the authorization.

Follow-up observation after traffic switching

Provide rollback capability and support canary testing.

Is there a migration guide?

Yes. For more information about migration from AMS to Alipay+, see Migration Guide for AMS to Alipay+.

For more inforamtion about migration from AlipayCN to Alipay+, see Migration Guide for AlipayCN to Alipay+.

When is the settlement cycle?

For AlipayCN, settlement is usually performed on a T+1 day basis. For other MPPs supported by Alipay+, settlement is performed on a T+2 day basis. Due to the different settlement cycles, Alipay+ provides two sets of settlement files. Therefore, you shall be able to process different sets of settlement files.

How do I register existing merchants with Alipay+?

Alipay+ can help you register existing merchants in one batch. However, due to compliance reasons, this operation supports only ENTERPRISE merchants.

As for existing INDIVIDUAL merchants and all new merchants, you need to call the registration API to complete the registration.

How does the migration affect merchants?

The effects differ depending on the payment scenario.

User-presented Mode Payment and Merchant-presented Mode Payment

If the Alipay logo is displayed as an icon in the entry of the terminal device used by the merchant, the logo needs to be placed by the Alipay+ logo. Besides, AlipayCN and other MPPs supported by Alipay+ need to be accessed through the same entry.
In the User-presented Mode Payment scenario, the terminal device used by the merchant opens the code-scanning page to scan the payment code provided by the user. In this case, the merchant is unaware of the MPP and your server side needs to determine the MPP based on the format of the payment code. Note that you must ensure that the Alipay+ payment code is not intercepted at your client side.

Cashier Payment and Auto Debit

The merchant's checkout page needs to display the Alipay+ payment method. If this page is rendered by you, you need to update and maintain the checkout page.
The merchant may have previously used the mobile SDK provided by Alipay to complete payments at apps. If you have already integrated with Alipay+ mobile SDK solution, the SDK needs to be updated at the merchant side. Otherwise, you can obtain a redirect URL to invoke the MPP by passing the terminalType=APP parameter and pass the URL to the merchant.

How do I migrate mini programs in AlipayCN?

The mini program feature on Alipay+ is still in progress and will be available in the near future.

Are settlement amounts on AMS and Alipay+ clubbed? For example, consider a situation where the amount to be settled on AMS is $10 and the amount to be settled on Alipay+ is $20. Will I receive a single cumulative settlement in the account for $30 or two settlements, $10 for AMS and $20 for Alipay+ respectively? How can this be distinguished if the settlement amount is the same for AMS and Alipay+ (i.e. APS=$10 & AMS=$10)?

The settlements are handled separately. One settlement is $10 for AMS and the other is $20 for Alipay+.

After the migration, consider a situation where there is a refund on the AMS platform for a charge performed in the past and no new transactions are available. In this case, there will be a negative settlement for that day on AMS. How will this be handled?

After migration, if there is a negative settlement on AMS, you can top up funds to AMS so that the settlement can be processed as normal.

Payment exception handling

What are the common exceptions that may occur after a payment is initiated? What are the best practices to handle these exceptions?

The most common exception is timeout. When a payment is processed, Alipay+ sends an asynchronous notification to you for the result. If you do not receive a notification, you can call the inquiryPayment API to inquire about the payment result. The inquiryPayment call can be retried if no response is received or the PAYMENT_IN_PROCESS status is received.

If the user or merchant cancels or revokes the transaction, you can call the cancelPayment API within the cancellable period to reverse the transaction. After the cancellable period, the transaction will be posted to MPP and you can call the refund API to refund the transaction. However, fees and charges apply for a refund.