Support partial authorization for prepaid, gift, and EBT card transactions when the issuer approves less than the requested amount

Steps

1. Set the partial-authorization flag to true on applicable transaction types (prepaid purchase, gift card, EBT food-benefit purchase, EBT cash-benefit withdrawal) in your authorization request.
2. When the issuer returns an approved amount lower than requested, read the actual approved-amount field rather than assuming the requested amount was charged in full.
3. Prompt the checkout flow to collect the remaining balance via a second tender (another card, cash) for the unapproved portion.
4. For prepaid/gift cards, read back and display the issuer-returned remaining card balance on the receipt so the cardholder knows the card is now at zero or near-zero balance.
5. Avoid re-attempting the same card for the declined remainder — seek a different payment method instead of repeatedly re-authorizing the same card.
6. Test partial-authorization handling in your processor's certification/sandbox environment, since Visa, Mastercard, and Discover all require acquirer support for it on debit and prepaid card types.