Whether shopping in-store, online, or at an ATM, interruptions in card payment processing are more than an inconvenience. When things go wrong, it can harm customer trust and damage a brand's reputation. Card payment flows are complex, with high transaction volumes, multiple systems, and customer expectations for speed and reliability. This is where stand-in processing (STIP) becomes essential, keeping transactions flowing even when primary systems are unavailable. At Marqeta, our version of STIP is called Commando Mode.
What is stand-in processing (STIP)?
Stand-in processing (sometimes referred to as stand-in authorization) starts when an issuing bank or issuer's system cannot respond to an authorization request. This may be due to planned maintenance, outages, network issues, or other interruptions. In those moments, the issuer processor "stands in" on behalf of the issuer, using pre-defined rules to authorize or decline transactions. The goal is smooth continuity: cardholders don't get declined simply because of backend system issues. Traditionally, card schemes offered STIP, and many issuer processors didn't support it or only offered very basic versions. Modern platforms, however, enable issuers to set their own rules around risk, thresholds, and criteria for authorizations during downtime.
How Marqeta's STIP works
When the issuer's primary system fails or is unresponsive, the STIP engine takes over. Marqeta's version enables configurable rules such as spend limits, merchant categories, risk scores, and velocity parameters to evaluate transactions. In a fallback scenario, you can decline all transactions if there's no response from the core issuer system within a set timeframe, or, in more flexible configurations, allow low-risk transactions to process if they meet issuer-set criteria.
Configurable rules: Issuers define detailed policy around what to approve or decline. For example, transactions below a certain amount, at specific merchants, or within certain patterns of behavior can be approved automatically. Others are declined or routed for review.
Why STIP matters for issuers and cardholders
STIP is more than a safety feature; it has several strategic benefits:
Continuity of service: No lost transactions just because systems are down. During outages or stress on systems, such as during high shopping volume, STIP prevents customer frustration and lost revenue.
Customer trust and loyalty: If cards keep working even when things go wrong behind the scenes, it strengthens brand trust and reduces customer attrition.
Fraud mitigation: STIP allows issuers to enforce risk thresholds even when offline. Some transactions are allowed; others are blocked according to rules designed to limit exposure.
Operational flexibility: Issuers can tailor STIP behavior to match their own risk appetite, deciding what kind of transactions are safe to approve during downtime.
Global consistency: For issuers operating across regions and time zones, STIP ensures reliable payment behavior everywhere, even when local outages or maintenance occur.
Real-world impact and urgency backed by data
In payment systems and online commerce, downtime and payment failures carry high costs. In the UK alone, one-third of customers affected by payment or banking outages say they would consider switching providers as a result. Poor payment performance costs more than just inconvenience. U.S. companies lose 2.1% of global sales each year due to issues such as false declines and failed authorizations. At peak volume, Marqeta platform data shows an hour of downtime can mean up to 3.6 million potential failed authorizations, a scale that makes clear why continuity during outages isn't optional. And according to Recurly, 100% of businesses surveyed in their 2024 survey report negative impacts from failed payments, including lost revenue, lower lifetime value (LTV), and damaged brand reputation. These figures show that payment systems can't afford downtime. The cost shows up in lost revenue, weakened brand loyalty, and customer attrition.
Integrating STIP
For all businesses, STIP should be part of a broader card payment strategy. Define clear risk policies and thresholds, maintain real-time monitoring and audit trails, configure fallback rules that balance security with customer experience, and test and simulate STIP rules ahead of going live to avoid surprises.
Why choose Marqeta for stand-in processing
Marqeta's platform offers features that make STIP a powerful strategic tool:
- Customizable rule models for authorization during interruptions
- Real-time transaction evaluation for approvals and declines
- Global coverage for multi-market issuers
- Cloud-native infrastructure for speed, scale, and reliability
Stand-in processing is more than a backup plan. For companies managing card programs at scale, having STIP capability can mean the difference between maintaining trust and risking customer dissatisfaction when failures occur. By deploying configurable, rules-based STIP such as Commando Mode, issuers can reduce revenue loss, protect brand reputation, and keep transactions flowing during outages. The real test comes when core systems go down: can your payment programs keep working? With STIP in place, businesses managing card programs at scale don't have to find out the hard way.
Reach out to our team today about building configurable stand-in processing into your card program.
