General Information

Q: What is Geidea?

A: Geidea is a leading Saudi financial technology (fintech) company offering comprehensive payment solutions designed to facilitate seamless payment acceptance for your business. Our wide range of APIs enables you to integrate diverse payment methods, catering to your customers' preferences. Whether through shopping carts, hosted payment pages, direct APIs, or other methods, our solutions ensure a smooth and hassle-free payment experience. We serve both public and private sectors, including but not limited to Banking, Retail, F&B, Hospitality, SMEs, Ecommerce, and Government entities.

Q: In which countries are Geidea payments available?

A: Geidea payments are currently available for merchants in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Payment Methods

Q: What kinds of payments can I accept with Geidea?

A: Merchants can accept a variety of payment options through Geidea, including:

• Credit and Debit Cards: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, CUP, Mada (KSA), and Meeza (Egypt)
• Instalment Plans: Visa instalment plans for KSA and UAE and variety of bank instalment options in Egypt
• Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): Tabby, Tamara (UAE and KSA), ValU, and Souhoola (Egypt)
• Digital Wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay
• Alternative Payment Methods: Meeza QR payments, Pay by Reference, STC Pay

Note: Availability of specific options may vary by country. Please contact Geidea support for more details.

Q: Is it possible to process refunds through Geidea?

A: Most payment gateways, including Geidea, support refund capabilities. You can initiate refunds through the Geidea gateway's dashboard or API. When a customer requests a refund from an online business, the merchant initiates the refund request via Geidea payment gateway. The payment gateway communicates with the acquiring bank to request the refund, which, in turn, contacts the issuing bank where the customer's account/card is held. After verification, the issuing bank processes the refund, and the funds are reflected in the customer's account/card balance. The refund process typically takes 5-10 days due to the involvement of multiple parties with varying manual processes. Delays can occur if there are any communication issues between these parties."

Q: What is the duration of validity for authorization on a payer account?

The duration of the authorization's validity on the payer's account varies depending on the financial institution that issued the card. Each card issuer sets its own timeframe for holding the funds on the payer's account, awaiting the capture transaction. Typically, the duration of this period ranges from 5 to 8 processing days. After this time, the authorization is removed from the payer's account, and the funds become accessible to the payer once again.

Security and Integration

Q: Does Geidea payments support secure transactions?

A: Yes, Geidea utilizes 3D Secure, a two-step authentication process to verify customer identity.

Q: Which PCI-DSS version does Geidea support currently?

A: Geidea is PCI-DSS level 4.0 certified.

Q: What kind of integrations does Geidea offers?

A: Geidea offers both Geidea Checkout and direct API integration for a seamless payments experience. Merchants who are not PCI-DSS compliant can use Geidea Checkout to offer secure and smooth payments experience. Alternatively, merchants can use the Direct integration if they are PCI-DSS compliant.

Q: Can I customize the checkout page?

A: Yes, you can customize the look and feel of the Geidea checkout page through branding and customization options. Refer to the Branding and Customization section for details.

Q: Is there developer documentation available?

A: Yes, you can access the Geidea API documentation here.

Q: Do you provide a testing environment?

A: Yes, Geidea offers a dedicated sandbox environment for testing integration scenarios with a simulator before going live.

Q: Are there test cards available?

A: Yes, Geidea provides a set of test cards with different brands and 3D Secure options. More information on test cards can be found [here]

Payment Links

Q: Can I send a payment link to customers?

A: Yes, Geidea offers Pay by link product. You can generate and send customized links to customers via email or SMS for immediate payments. Find more information in the Pay By Link section.

Q: Do I need to send a new link for failed payments?

A: Quick and Standard payment links are for one-time use, which means one can access the link until it is paid. Additionally, merchant can configure the expiration date when generating the link.

Tokenization

Q: Does Geidea offers tokenization?

A: Yes, Geidea offers tokenization feature where we will securely store the sensitive card data against a token and provide the token to the merchant.

Q: Does Geidea provide Merchant Initiated transactions?

A: Yes, Using tokenization Geidea offers merchants to perform Merchant initiated transactions - Unscheduled payments.

Recurring Billing

Q: Does Geidea support recurring payments?

A: Yes, Geidea offers recurring billing options that allow you to automatically charge a customer's card on a scheduled basis. There are two options:

• Recurring - Auto-debit payments.
• Recurring Payment Links

Order Status and Reporting

Q: How can I check the status of a payment?

A: Geidea provides a merchant portal where you can view order status and other order details.

Q: Are there alternative ways to check transaction status?

A: Yes, you can use a callback URL (webhook or notification URL) to receive real-time notifications and data about your transactions. Visit the Webhook/Callback Notifications section for more information.

Q: Do you offer reporting tools?

A: Yes, Geidea provides a portal for generating reports at any time and a dashboard for real-time transaction updates.

Troubleshooting

Q: Transaction failed, but money was still deducted:

In this scenario, a customer's online payment may seem to fail, but the bank notifies the customer that the money has been deducted. Online payments involve multiple parties, including the online website, payment gateway, acquiring bank, and the customer's issuing bank. The failed transaction could result from technical issues or communication failures among these parties, leading to money being deducted without successful payment.

Q: Getting invalid merchant account error:

Ensure that you have the correct API credentials (e.g., API keys, usernames, passwords) for the payment gateway integration. Incorrect credentials can lead to communication issues between your website or application and the payment gateway.

Q: What are the different Error Codes and Messages:

Payment gateways often provide error codes and messages that can help diagnose issues. Make sure to log and monitor these errors to identify patterns and potential problems. Refer to this page for more details.

Q: What is a failed order?

A: A failed order is one that could not be authorized due to reasons like insufficient funds, incorrect CVV, etc.

Q: What is a rejected order?

A: A rejected order is one that has been blocked by the system's risk management rules (e.g., card issued in a sanctioned country).

Q: What is a chargeback?

A: A chargeback is a dispute initiated by a customer through their issuing bank. It can be filed for fraudulent transactions or other issues (e.g., service not received). The merchant has the opportunity to respond with evidence to defend against the chargeback (e.g., proof of delivery, secure transaction processing, customer order confirmation.