Summary
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is an information security standard for organizations that handle branded credit cards from major card schemes.
The PCI Standard is mandated by the card brands and administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. The standard was created to increase controls around cardholder data to reduce credit card fraud.
Telr is PCI DSS compliant. The certificate can be accessed here.
While PCI DSS compliance is a pre-requisite for payment acceptance, we have gone a step further and incorporated a very robust Risk Management System developed with help from PayPal.
Telr Payment Gateway supports multiple payment methods, giving greater flexibility to your customers to complete payments using the payment method of their choice.
Supported Payment Methods
- Credit/Debit Card/Prepaid
Customise Payment Methods
With Telr Payment Gateway, you can choose to display only the payment methods relevant to your business.
Fill out the Support Form to add or remove any payment methods.
Click here to see all the currencies supported.
Payment Response
You will receive responses for every payment made by your customers. These details can be viewed in the dashboard against each transaction.
Click here to view all possible payment response statuses.
Payment Modes Below is a detailed list of all supported payment modes and their respective codes:
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| DEBIT_CARD | Debit Card |
| CREDIT_CARD | Credit Card |
| PREPAID_CARD | Prepaid Card |
There are various states that the payment goes through. The various states help you understand the status of the payment made by your customers.
- SUCCESS
- FAILED
- PENDING
- CANCELLED
- FLAGGED
- INCOMPLETE
- VOID
- USER_DROPPED
Payment Response Status
Telr send responses against the payments made by your customers. The response against these payments made could contain one of the following statuses.
| Case | Event Name | Event Status |
|---|---|---|
| Successful Payment | PAYMENT_RESPONSE | SUCCESS |
| Payment Failed | PAYMENT_RESPONSE | FAILED |
| Pending Payment | PAYMENT_RESPONSE | PENDING |
| Payment cancelled by the user | PAYMENT_RESPONSE | CANCELLED |
| Payment successful but kept on hold by risk system | PAYMENT_RESPONSE | FLAGGED |
| Transactions are marked as Incomplete, which later changes to other states based on the responses from other entities. | PAYMENT_RESPONSE | INCOMPLETE |
| When we do not want to capture the transaction amount (pre-authorized transactions). | PAYMENT_RESPONSE | VOID |
| When customers drop out of the payment flow without completing the transaction. | PAYMENT_RESPONSE | USER_DROPPED |
| Invalid inputs | VALIDATION_ERROR |
A seamless checkout is key to customer trust. Redirects and pop-ups? They create confusion and hurt conversions. Big brands offer smooth payments, but not everyone has their resources.
That’s where Telr comes in! We provide easy integrations for a fast, hassle-free checkout—built for businesses of all sizes. Telr offers a seamless checkout experience with:
No Redirects – Customer experiences checkout flow on your website without navigating to any third-party page
Custom UI – You own the look and feel of the checkout flow or you can also use our ready-made beautiful UI components
One-Click Checkout – Enable fast, hassle-free payments with a single click.
Sign-Up to see our payment gateway in action!
Businesses accepting payments via cards may face a situation where a chargeback request is raised for a refund to the customer. What is a chargeback? A chargeback is a request for the return of funds to a consumer, initiated by the consumer’s card-issuing bank. It serves as a form of consumer protection against fraudulent activities committed by both merchants and individuals.
Note: It is best to avoid chargebacks as banks and card networks can label your business as high-risk. A high number of chargebacks may lead to banks holding remittances or banning your business’s online payment services.
Key Parties Involved in a Chargeback
- Cardholder: The owner of the card involved in the transaction.
- Merchant: The party who sold the goods or services being disputed.
- Issuer: The bank that issued the card to the cardholder.
- Acquirer: The bank tasked with acquiring payment on the merchant’s behalf.
- Card Association/Scheme: The card brands (e.g., Visa, Mastercard) overseeing the process.
- Payment Gateway: The payment gateway facilitating the payment.
Reasons for a Chargeback Request A chargeback request may be raised for various reasons, such as:
- Service or product not received.
- The product doesn’t match the description or is damaged.
How Does the Chargeback Process Work?
- The cardholder (Ms. X) disputes a transaction by contacting the card issuer (e.g., SBI).
- The issuer contacts the acquirer (e.g., HDFC Bank) via the same network used for the transaction.
- The acquirer reaches out to the payment gateway (e.g., Telr), which then contacts the merchant (e.g., merchant.com) for details.
- The merchant is given a turnaround time to respond.
- If no response is provided, the chargeback will be ruled in favor of the cardholder.
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After submitting proof, banks take 21 to 45 days (representation time) to conclude.
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The cardholder has 90-120 days to raise a chargeback request.
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If a chargeback occurs, the disputed amount will be blocked from the merchant’s unsettled funds and will be released or refunded based on the outcome.
Chargeback Scenarios
Scenario 1: The merchant decides to respond The merchant must provide evidence related to the transaction, such as:
- Email conversations
- Invoices
This proof is passed to the issuer (e.g., SBI) for review.
- If the issuer accepts the proof:
- The chargeback request is declined, but the cardholder can still raise a Second Presentment, Second Chargeback (Mastercard) or Pre-Arbitration (Visa).
- If the issuer rejects the proof:
- The chargeback is ruled valid, and funds are reversed to the cardholder’s account.
Scenario 2: The merchant decides not to respond
- The chargeback is automatically ruled in favor of the cardholder, and the amount is reversed.
Second Presentment, Second Chargeback, or Pre-Arbitration If the initial chargeback is won by the merchant, the customer can raise the dispute again.
- The merchant must respond with all possible evidence.
- If the merchant does not respond: The chargeback will favor the cardholder, and funds will be reversed.
Documents Required to Dispute a Chargeback Merchants should keep the following documents ready to tackle any chargeback:
- Proof of delivery: Tracking numbers, shipping receipts, etc.
Pro Tip: Prepare these documents from day one to efficiently handle potential chargebacks.
Invoice copy: This should include your company name, price, and description of the product, date, customer’s name and address, date.
Order confirmation email: This email provides customers with post-purchase reassurance. It should mandatorily include confirmation of your customer’s request (booking, registration, subscription and order) and the order summary.
Tracking details: Shipment tracking details provided by the courier delivery company (Not applicable for all).
Finally, we are near the end of the chargeback process. The issuer reviews the chargeback claim and the merchant’s evidence. Each card network requires specific information to prove or disprove a dispute. This information is typically listed in the network’s rules and regulations.
Let’s say the merchant wins a chargeback. The cardholder could still dispute the outcome. This takes on various names depending on the card network. For example, Visa calls this Pre-Arbitration, while Mastercard calls it a Second Chargeback. However, the process is essentially the same, as detailed below:
Level 1/Phase 1: Chargeback
The initial phase where the cardholder disputes the transaction.
Level 2/Phase 2: Second Presentment, Second Chargeback, or Pre-Arbitration
This gives the acquirer and the issuer a second chance to resolve the dispute. An issuer may issue pre-arbitration for several reasons, including:
- A reason code change.
- The cardholder offers new information.
- The issuer believes the acquirer’s evidence does not disprove the dispute.
- Terms and Conditions or Return Policies were not properly disclosed during the transaction.
Level 3/Phase 3: Arbitration
Explicit time limits exist for issuers and acquirers to file for and respond to arbitration chargebacks. For example, Mastercard gives issuers and acquirers 45 days to file. However, documents must be submitted well in advance to allow for thorough review.
For more information on arbitration rates, refer to the link.
There are 151 reason codes used to categorize chargebacks across Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
Reason codes can be grouped into five main categories:
- Fraud/No Authorization
- Cancel Recurring Billing
- Products/Services
- Liability Shift
- Others
Note: Fraud/No Authorization chargebacks account for the largest percentage of disputes, followed by Cancel Recurring Billing and Products/Services disputes. Liability Shift and Other chargebacks represent a smaller percentage.
For a detailed breakdown, refer to the link.
As a business, how can I avoid chargebacks?
- Cardholders often have an advantage as banks and credit card companies prioritize consumer protection.
- Always maintain proof/evidence to challenge disputes. Store these documents in an easily accessible location, like a desktop folder or Google Drive.
- Respond promptly to disputes and chargebacks. If you miss the stipulated time frame, banks automatically process the chargeback.
- Be prepared with an action plan to handle chargebacks efficiently.
Questions?
We’re always happy to help with any questions you might have. Search our documentation, contact support, or connect with our sales team. You can also chat with our team via chat for real-time support.
Pre-Authorization lets you block a customer’s funds and capture the payment only after fulfilling the order.
Supported Cards – Works with Mastercard & Visa credit/debit cards. Flexible Captures – Capture the full or partial amount later. Void Transactions – Release blocked funds if the order isn’t processed. Easy Control – Manage captures & voids manually via the Merchant Dashboard. A smarter way to handle payments with more control!
Interested in the Pre-Authorization feature? Contact sales
If you are getting this error, it usually means you are using Production credentials on the Telr Test server or Test credentials on the Production server. To fix this, do the following:
- Go to the page where you get API credentials: https://telr.cashfree.com/merchant/pg#api-key
- Ensure that you get the appropriate set of credentials (Test or Production). Also, ensure that there are no typos in the
appId/secretKey. - Ensure that in your integration type, you are selecting the correct server (Test or Production) of Telr.
Cashfree lets you integrate your website or mobile app with our payment gateway to accept payments. Over and above this, we also offer plugins to major e-commerce sites like Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, OpenCart, PrestaShop, and WHMCS. Click here to know more.
There are three types of web integrations possible with Telr:
You can instantly set up any of these based on your requirements.
You can use the Cashfree Payment Gateway Dashboard to create orders and accept payments using a payment link. These links can be sent to your customers via email or SMS, without the need to integrate Cashfree into your website.
Invoice copy: Every invoice should include your company name, price, and description of the product, date, customer’s name, and address, contact information (Email and/or phone), and transaction date. Order confirmation email: Confirmation emails provide customers with the feeling of post-purchase reassurance. It should mandatorily include confirmation of your customer request (booking, registration, subscription, and order) and the order summary. Tracking details: Shipment tracking details provided by the courier delivery company. (Please note that this may not be applicable for all).
The above mentioned supporting documents are the general proofs that we request. Depending upon the nature of business/line of business (LOB), we may ask for other details such as:
- Customer signed Proof of Delivery: Customer signed copy of proof of delivery.
- Confirmation email from a customer: An email from the customer confirming the delivery of the product or the service provided.
- Customer signed copy of invoice: A signed copy of the invoice from a customer.
Questions? We’re always happy to help you with any questions that you might have. You can search our FAQs, documentation, contact our support team, connect with our sales team from here, or fill out the Support Form. You could also chat with our team via Intercom for real-time support.
Telr provides you with the flexibility to create PayMe links, a specially crafted payment link that your customers can use to pay any amount of their choice to your account.
For every transaction processed through Telr, either of the following charges applies:
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Upfront TDR – A fixed charge collected at a predefined frequency. OR
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Non-Upfront TDR – A charge deducted as a percentage (TDR%) or a flat fee from the transaction amount, with the remaining balance settled to your bank account.
For every transaction that your customers make through Telr, TDR will be deducted from the total amount and the remaining amount will be settled to your bank account
You can initiate a refund for a transaction from the payment gateway dashboard by going to PG Dashboard > Refunds > NEW REFUND and providing the corresponding transaction ID or order iD. Once the refund is initiated, it will take 5-7 business days for the amount to be credited to your account.
Invoice copy: Every invoice should include your company name, price, and description of the product, date, customer’s name, and address, contact information (Email and/or phone), and transaction date.
Order confirmation email: Confirmation emails provide customers with the feeling of post-purchase reassurance. It should mandatorily include confirmation of your customer request (booking, registration, subscription, and order) and the order summary.
Tracking details: Shipment tracking details provided by the courier delivery company. (Please note that this may not be applicable for all).
The above-mentioned supporting documents are the general proofs that we request. Depending upon the nature of business/line of business (LOB), we may ask for other details such as:
- Customer signed Proof of Delivery: Customer signed copy of proof of delivery.
- Confirmation email from a customer: An email from the customer confirming the delivery of the product or the service provided.
- Customer signed copy of invoice: A signed copy of the invoice from a customer.
Questions?
We’re always happy to help you with any questions that you might have. You can search our FAQs, documentation, contact our support team, connect with our sales team from here, or fill out the Support Form. You could also chat with our team via Intercom for real-time support.
Before we activate Telr Payment Gateway on a website or mobile app, we need a few prerequisites in place.
- Your website should be live in the public domain.
- Your website should have:
- [Contact Us] section showing a valid
<email Id>and a<phone number> - [Privacy Policy] section
- [Refund Policy] section
- [Terms & Conditions] section.
- Dealing in banned items.
At Telr, we do not support businesses that deal in certain prohibited items. If your business deals in any such items, Telr Payment Gateway Account will not be activated in such a scenario.
- Drop-shipped merchandise.
- Adult goods and services which includes pornography and other sexually suggestive materials (including literature, imagery, and other media); escort or prostitution services.
- Alcohol which includes alcoholic beverages such as beer, liquor, wine, or champagne.
- Body parts which includes organs or other body parts.
- Bulk marketing tools which includes email lists, software, or other products enabling unsolicited email messages (spam).
- Cable descramblers and black boxes which includes devices intended to obtain cable and satellite signals for free.
- Child pornography which includes pornographic materials involving minors.
- Copyright unlocking devices which includes Mod chips or other devices designed to circumvent copyright protection.
- Copyrighted media which includes unauthorized copies of books, music, movies, and other licensed or protected materials.
- Copyrighted software which includes unauthorized copies of software, video games, and other licensed or protected materials, including OEM or bundled software.
- Counterfeit and unauthorized goods which includes replicas or imitations of designer goods; items without a celebrity endorsement that would normally require such an association, fake autographs, counterfeit stamps, and other potentially unauthorized goods.
- Drugs and drug paraphernalia which includes illegal drugs and drug accessories, including herbal drugs like salvia and magic mushrooms.
- Drug test circumvention aids which include drug cleansing shakes, urine test additives, and related items.
- Endangered species which include plants, animals, or other organisms (including product derivatives) in danger of extinction.
- Gaming/gambling which includes lottery tickets, sports bets, memberships/enrolment in online gambling sites, and related content.
- Government IDs or documents which includes fake IDs, passports, diplomas, and noble titles.
- Hacking and cracking materials which includes manuals, how-to guides, information, or equipment enabling illegal access to software, servers, websites, or other protected property.
- Illegal goods which includes materials, products, or information promoting illegal goods or enabling illegal acts.
- Miracle cures which includes unsubstantiated cures, remedies, or other items marketed as quick health fixes.
- Offensive goods which includes literature, products or other materials that:
a) Defame or slander any person or groups of people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, or other factors
b) Encourage or incite violent acts
c) Promote intolerance or hatred. - Offensive goods, a crime which includes crime scene photos or items, such as personal belongings, associated with criminals.
- Prescription drugs or herbal drugs or any kind of online pharmacies which includes drugs or other products requiring a prescription by a licensed medical practitioner.
- Pyrotechnic devices and hazardous materials which include fireworks and related goods; toxic, flammable, and radioactive materials and substances.
- Regulated goods which include airbags; batteries containing mercury; Freon or similar substances/refrigerants, chemical/industrial solvents, government uniforms, car titles or logos, license plates, police badges, and law enforcement equipment, lock-picking devices, pesticides; postage meters, recalled items, slot machines, surveillance equipment; goods regulated by government or other agency specifications.
- Securities, which include stocks, bonds, or related financial products.
- Tobacco and cigarettes which includes cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and related products.
- Traffic devices which include radar detectors/jammers, license plate covers, traffic signal changers, and related products.
- Weapons include firearms, ammunition, knives, brass knuckles, gun parts, and other armaments.
- Wholesale currency which includes discounted currencies or currency exchanges.
- Live animals or hides/skins/teeth, nails, and other parts, etc. of animals.
- Multi-Level Marketing collection fees.
- Matrix sites or sites using a matrix scheme approach.
- Work-at-home information.
- Any product or service which is not in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations whether federal, state, local, or international including the laws of India.
- The Merchant shall not sell, purchase, provide or exchange a cardholder’s name or MasterCard/Visa account number information in any form obtained by reason of a MasterCard/Visa Card transaction to any third party other than its MasterCard/Visa acquiring Member-Citrus Pay, or pursuant to a government/statutory or competent body’s request.
- Pyrotechnic devices, combustibles, corrosives, and hazardous materials which includes explosives, fireworks and related goods; toxic, flammable, and radioactive materials and substances.
- Regulated goods which include airbags; batteries containing mercury; Freon or similar substances/refrigerants; chemical/industrial solvents; government uniforms; car titles; license plates; police badges and law enforcement equipment; lock-picking devices; pesticides; postage meters; recalled items; slot machines; surveillance equipment; goods regulated by government or other agency specifications.
Please Note: In case the Telr Payment Gateway has been activated and later it is found that the business or the website does not comply with the terms and conditions, the account shall be deactivated at Telr’s discretion.
What are high-risk transactions?
A particular transaction that may have the potential to attract a customer dispute or chargeback is identified by Telr as well as banking partners and marked as a high-risk transaction. The payment to the merchant against such a transaction is put on hold until the issue is resolved.
Who are high-risk merchants?
As a payment gateway, Telr generally settles the collected amount within T+1* or T+2* days. However, some merchants may not qualify for the traditional payment processing agreements due to the inherent risk based on the nature of the business.
In addition to the line of business, there may be instances where Telr receives frequent escalations from consumers or banks about the genuineness of transactions or financial credibility, based on risk analysis. In such cases, Telr may mark the business as a high-risk merchant and temporarily suspend the traditional payment settlement process.
High-risk merchants at the time of onboarding
If the nature of the business is seen as risky, to protect the interest of the paying consumer, Telr monitors the merchant for a certain period after onboarding. During this period, all settlements by the high-risk merchant shall be subject to the submission of Proof of Delivery. Once the proofs are submitted, the settlements are processed. The time frame of monitoring may vary from merchant to merchant and scenario to scenario, and will be decided by Telr at the time of onboarding.
What are the documents required to prove delivery?
As proof of delivery, you can share ANY ONE of the following supporting documents:
- Invoice Copy: Every invoice should include your company name, price, and description of the product, date, customer’s name and address, and transaction date.
- Order Confirmation Email: Confirmation emails provide customers with post-purchase reassurance. It should mandatorily include confirmation of your customer request (booking, registration, subscription, and order) and the order summary.
- Tracking Details: Shipment tracking details provided by the courier delivery company. (Please note that this may not be applicable for all).
The above-mentioned supporting documents are general proofs we request. Depending on your business/line of business (LOB), we may ask for other details such as:
- Customer Signed Proof of Delivery: A customer-signed copy of proof of delivery.
- Confirmation Email from a Customer: An email from the customer confirming the delivery of the product or service.
- Customer-Signed Copy of Invoice: A signed copy of the invoice from the customer.
Questions?
We’re always happy to help you with any questions that you might have. You can search our FAQs, documentation, contact our support team, connect with our sales team from here, or fill out the Support Form. You could also chat with our team via Intercom for real-time support.
Note: Settlement cycle is subject to bank approval and can vary based on transaction type, business category/model, risk parameters, and other factors.
It is quite critical for a payment gateway to offer a seamless experience to the customers. Multiple redirects and ugly pop-ups lead to a confusing checkout experience and end up eroding the customer’s confidence. A lot of websites do offer a beautiful checkout experience, but this lot is limited to big technology houses with abundant manpower.
We at Telr have carefully tried to solve this problem. We offer multiple ways to integrate our payment gateway and render a seamless checkout experience to customers. Two basic aspects of our UI integration are:
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No Redirects
Customer experiences the checkout flow on your website without navigating to any third-party page. -
Custom UI
You own the look and feel of the checkout flow, or you can also use our ready-made beautiful UI components.
The available card subtypes are:
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P – Premium
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E – Elite
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C – Corporate
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R – Retail
This is a request-based feature, available only to PCI-DSS-compliant merchants. To enable it, reach out to your account manager or write to care@cashfree.com.
Cashfree-hosted Checkout merchants use Cashfree’s offer engine to run offers. To set up risk checks, merchants leverage Cashfree’s RiskShield solution. Both offerings allow merchants to set up offer targeting strategies and risk rules through a self-serve flow on the Cashfree dashboard, making implementation easy and effective.
Capture call is performed after authorization. It is a merchant-initiated request (via API) to collect the previously authorized funds. This step debits the amount from the customer.
If not captured within 7 days, the authorization expires, and the funds are released back to the customer.
Yes, merchants can capture a partial amount of the authorized funds.
MDR is always applied only on the captured amount.
All Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards support pre-authorization.
A void call cancels the authorization before capture, releasing the hold on funds.
No, voiding must be for the entire authorized amount.
Here are some common use cases:
- Ticket Bookings – Airlines, concerts, and events often place a hold on a credit card to ensure funds are available before finalizing the booking. This is useful if confirmation is pending or for refundable ticket options.
- Car Rentals – Rental companies use pre-authorization to secure a deposit in case of damages, late returns, or additional charges. The hold is released if no extra fees are incurred.
- Hotel Reservations – Hotels pre-authorize a guest’s credit card at check-in to cover potential incidentals, damages, or unpaid charges, ensuring payment security before checkout.
Settlement occurs when the merchant finalizes a pre-authorized transaction by capturing the funds.
Merchants typically receive funds from pre-authorized transactions as per their normal settlement cycle, i.e., T+x days after a successful capture.
A dispute may result in a chargeback, requiring the merchant to provide proof of authorization and service fulfillment.