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Account updaters are services provided by Marqeta through the card networks to automatically update the primary account number (PAN) of a card when it is issued, reissued, updated, or closed. Account updaters allow merchants to use updated cardholder account information to support card-on-file transactions without interruption. Examples of such card-on-file transactions include recurring payments, subscription services, e-commerce merchants, and preferred customer programs. Account updaters are supported for all card types: credit, debit and prepaid.

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How do account updaters work?

Marqeta queries cards for the following account update criteria:
  • New account: When a new PAN is issued.
  • Updated card: There are two card update criteria for account updaters:
    • When a card is updated with a new PAN: this commonly occurs for lost or stolen cards, or to address fraud.
    • When a card is reissued with the same PAN: this commonly occurs when a card is expired or damaged.
      A new card is issued with the same PAN but a new expiration date.
  • Account closure: When an existing PAN is terminated.
When any of these criteria are met, Marqeta sends the updated information to the card network to be updated. Participating merchants can use the updated account information to prevent unnecessary declines or other friction in the cardholder experience.

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Supported account updaters

Marqeta supports account updaters for the following card networks:
  • Visa: For the Visa network, Marqeta supports the Visa Account Updater (VAU).
  • Mastercard: For the Mastercard network, Marqeta supports the Automatic Billing Updater (ABU).

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Enablement and implementation

The account updaters services are not enabled by default. To enable account updaters for your cards, contact your Marqeta representative.

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Visa Account Updater

The Visa Account Updater (VAU) for the Visa network is enabled for Bank Identification Number (BIN) ranges, and supports a BIN of any length. If you are a Managed by Marqeta (MxM) customer, you do not need to provide any additional information to Marqeta. If you are a Powered by Marqeta (PxM) customer, you must provide the relevant BIN to Marqeta to enable the account updater service. Account updates are triggered for two events:
  • Every time a reissued card is activated.
  • Every time a card is terminated.

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Automatic Billing Updater

The Automatic Billing Updater (ABU) for the Mastercard network is enabled for Bank Identification Number (BIN) ranges. If you are a Managed by Marqeta (MxM) customer, you do not need to provide any additional information to Marqeta. If you are a Powered by Marqeta (PxM) customer, you must provide the relevant BIN to enable account updaters. You must also have your issuing bank provide Mastercard ABU customer form 806 directly to Mastercard. Account updates are triggered for two events:
  • Every time a new or reissued card is activated.
  • Every time a card is terminated.

Related topics

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