If you're running a card program, or even just considering launching one, there's a hidden pain point that often goes unnoticed until it’s too late: transaction matching.
It sounds innocuous enough, right? After all, shouldn’t a payment that’s authorized go on to clear and settle without a hitch? Theoretically, yes. In reality, not even close.
The messy truth is this: around 12% of all card transactions fail to match properly between the authorization and clearing stages (a figure commonly cited across the payments industry and discussed at a recent card payments industry event, though exact percentages can vary). That’s more than 1 in 10 transactions, on average. And if you're responsible for reconciliation, that number is not just inconvenient, it’s unsustainable.
Let’s unpack why transaction matching matters, what’s going on behind the scenes, and how modern infrastructure (like Marqeta’s) is rewriting the rules.
Authorization vs clearing: What’s the deal?
Every card transaction goes through multiple stages (in a dual-auth scenario):
- Authorization – The moment a card is used and the issuer confirms the funds are available.
- Clearing – When the acquirer submits the transaction details to the network for settlement.
- Settlement – When the funds actually move between banks and the transaction is finalized.
For reconciliation and accounting purposes, these stages need to align perfectly — same amount, same merchant, same timestamp, same reference. But in practice, data mismatches are rampant.
Why don’t transactions match?
There are multiple reasons why authorization and clearing data can fall out of sync, including:
- Poor data quality from the networks
- Inconsistent merchant behavior, including:
- Forced posts
- Manually keyed-in transactions
- Automated fuel dispenser pre-authorizations
- Different data fields populated (or not) at each stage
- Currency conversions or regional formatting differences
These inconsistencies result in disparate data points between what was authorized and what is eventually cleared and settled. And when they don’t match, your systems can’t automatically reconcile them and a human has to get involved.
The business cost of 12% mismatches
If you're already running a card program, you're probably familiar with this pain. If you're just starting out, take note. This is not a problem you want to underestimate.
Here’s what 12% mismatch looks like in the real world:
- Operational strain: Finance teams manually combing through reports to reconcile mismatched data points.
- Missed SLAs: Failing to reconcile in time can delay financial reporting or client settlement cycles.
- Cashflow risk: You must provide settlement funds back to the network, even if the data doesn’t reconcile. That’s a huge risk to you, that you have to solve for after you’ve settled with the network
- Chargebacks as a workaround: Many providers will offer automated chargeback solutions as a band-aid, but this just kicks the can down the road. Many of these chargebacks are rejected anyway.
Let’s be honest — no finance team wants to live in Excel, cross-referencing a spider web of reports to match a transaction that should have worked in the first place.
Entire businesses have been built solely to help reduce this 12% failure rate to a more manageable number. And while these tools are helpful, they still require time, effort, and manual oversight.
Is 12% the best we can do?
No. Not even close.
At Marqeta, we thought this status quo was unacceptable. So we built a better system.
Through proprietary algorithms and advanced matching logic, Marqeta achieves an average 99.6% transaction match rate.
What does 99.6% accuracy mean?
- Less than 1 in 100 transactions require manual reconciliation
- Significantly lower operational overhead
- Faster, cleaner settlement cycles
- More accurate financial reporting
- Reduced risk of erroneous chargebacks
- Happier finance teams who no longer dread end-of-month reconciliation
This isn’t just a technical improvement. It’s a business advantage. When your team isn’t tied up reconciling payments, they can focus on more strategic work - improving customer experience, launching new products, or refining cash management processes.
Why traditional systems struggle
The reality is, many card programs still rely on legacy systems that were never built to handle today’s fragmented data landscape. They lack the flexibility, intelligence, or API depth to resolve mismatches at scale.
These systems:
- Operate in batch mode rather than real-time
- Rely on rigid rulesets that don’t handle edge cases
- Require manual triggers for exceptions
- Often lack visibility into both sides of the transaction
That’s why even advanced reconciliation tools often sit on top of the problem, rather than solving it at its core.
How Marqeta solves transaction matching at scale
Marqeta’s modern, API-first card issuing platform was designed from the ground up to address these kinds of infrastructure challenges. Our transaction matching capabilities are a result of:
- Deep network integrations: Giving us rich data from both authorization and clearing stages.
- Advanced matching algorithms: Built to handle even the most complex or inconsistent data sets.
- Real-time processing: Enabling immediate reconciliation, not days later.
- Contextual understanding of merchant behavior: Allowing us to intelligently interpret anomalies like automated fuel dispenser charges or forced posts.
This system isn’t static; it’s continuously learning, improving, and adapting to new edge cases as they emerge. That means your accuracy stays high even as your transaction volume grows or expands globally.
For finance leaders: This is a competitive advantage
If you're a CFO, VP of Finance, or Operations leader, the implications of solving this problem go far beyond daily convenience:
- Cleaner audits
- More accurate P&L forecasting
- Reduced exposure to write-offs or compliance fines
- Lower reliance on third-party reconciliation vendors
- Faster onboarding of new partners and geographies
Put simply: better transaction matching equals less friction, more trust, and greater agility in your financial operations.
Don’t let 12% be your benchmark
If your current provider, or prospective partner, is telling you that 88% accuracy is “as good as it gets,” it’s time to ask difficult questions. Why are you accepting 1 in 10 transactions going off the rails? Why are your teams still fighting with spreadsheets every month?
Transaction matching may not be glamorous, but it’s foundational. And when done right, it quietly powers your ability to scale confidently, serve customers better, and operate with financial clarity.
At Marqeta, we believe you should aim for more than good enough.
You should expect over 99%.
Contact us to learn more.
