Informational Prompting
Simplify supports an Informational Prompt Message. This is a flexible feature designed to allow merchants to display information for customers and get customer input using a variety of screen layouts. This message type does not affect the processing of financial transactions.
Availability of Informational Prompting functionality by device is as follows:
note
Maximum label length depends on font size. Maximum lengths shown below are for medium font size.
| Device | Supported Messages | Maximum Label Length |
|---|---|---|
| iPP320 | Tag 010 only | 22 |
| iPP350 | Tag 010 only * | 43 |
| iSC250 | All Tags except 031 | 52 |
| iSC480 | All Tags except 031 | 62 |
| iSMP4 | Tag 010 only | 32 |
| Link 2500 | Tags 010, 031 only | 22 |
| Lane 3000 | Tag 010, 031 only | 29 |
| Lane 5000 | All Tags | 35 |
| Lane 7000 | All Tags | 35 |
| Lane 8000 | All Tags | 35 |
| Move 5000 | Tags 010, 030, 031 only ** | 22 |
* Only supports one (lower) row of buttons.
** Non-P@TT Devices Only.
The POS controls this process by sending an Informational Prompt Request that defines the screen to be displayed. The PIN Pad must be in a Closed state to process this request. Exceptions: (1) If another Informational Prompt Request is sent when the PIN Pad is already displaying an Informational Prompt screen, the display for the second request will replace the first screen. (2) After sending an Informational Prompt Response, the PIN Pad will display a wait screen for a configurable interval before going to the Closed state. If a new Informational Prompt Request is sent during this interval, the PIN Pad will process the request.
Simplify returns the customer input in the Informational Prompt Response. Input includes the action button (virtual button) or hard key pressed. Depending on the type of Informational Prompt Message sent, input may also include entered text or a selected radio button, check boxes or slider position. Additional requests can be sent if further customer interaction is required.
important
For P2PE Systems: Informational Prompt messages must not pass card data. Doing so will defeat the purpose of P2PE, and result in increased need for PCI auditing.
Generic Non-Financial Message Format
The Informational Prompt Message is a Non-Financial message type (Transaction Type 36) with a Message Type of 14. It is discussed separately in this section due to its many uses.
As described under “Message Details” in Non-Financial Messages, all Non-Financial messages have the following generic format:
| API Field # | Description |
|---|---|
| 0001 | Transaction Type 36. Non-Financial message |
| 0011 | User Data. See Simplify-Controlled Field Definitions. For Transaction Type 36, it will always include:
|
| 5001 | Non-Financial Data. The format of this field depends on the value of Message Type. |
API 0011 and 5001 in Informational Prompt Messages
The remainder of this page provides information on API 0011 and 5001 specific to the Informational Prompt Message.
API 0011
The format of API 0011 in the Informational Prompt Message (36-14) is modeled on that in the Signature Request and Response Messages (36-01, 36-02). Exception: the Screen ID subfield of API 0011 is not used. As shown in the following table, the Response echoes the Request except for the Timeout Value, which is replaced with the Completion Code, and VersionBuildInfo (response only).
| API 0011 Subfield | Length | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Message Type | 2 | Always 14 |
| Sequence Number | 3 | Transaction identifier |
| Screen ID | 3 | Not used |
| Timeout Value/ Completion Code | 3 |
|
| VersionBuildInfo | Var | Response only: ‘?’ followed by Version and Build numbers |
API 5001
In the Informational Prompt Message, API 5001 is used in the Request to define the screen that will be displayed and in the Response to return customer action/data entered. The generic structure of API 5001 is TTTLLLVVV..VV, broken down as follows:
| API 5001 Subfield | Length | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TTT | 3 | Tag identifying screen to be displayed:
|
| LLL | 3 | Length of data (VVV…VV) Note that if the data is longer than 999 bytes, set LLL to 999. The application will process the additional data. |
| VVV…VV | var | Data |
The following pages provide detailed breakdowns of API 5001 and sample messages for each supported value of Tag.