schemeReferenceID

KeyFormatCNDDescription
schemeReferenceID

ans..64

C

Card scheme specific transaction ID required for subsequent credential-on-file payments, delayed authorizations and resubmissions.

Mandatory: CredentialOnFile – initial false – unscheduled MIT / recurring

schemeReferenceID is returned for 3DS2-payments. In case of fallback to 3DS1 you will also need to check for TransactionId.

The schemeReferenceID is a unique identifier generated by the card brands and as a rule Computop merchants can continue to use the SchemeReferenceIDs for subscription plans that were created while using another PSP environment / Paygate MerchantID / Acquirer ContractID / Acquirer.



English

Merchant Guidance: schemeReferenceID Update for Mastercard TLID support

What Changes

Starting release 7.67 (Q3 2026 - 2026/07/23), schemeReferenceID supports Mastercard Transaction Link Identifier (TLID) alongside the existing Trace ID. This enables compliance with Mastercard's updated rules for Merchant-Initiated Transactions (MITs) and Economically Related Transactions.


New Format

schemeReferenceID = <traceId>~<tlid>

  • Legacy (unchanged): schemeReferenceID = <traceId> (e.g., MCCABC1XY0416)
  • New (recommended for MITs): schemeReferenceID = <traceId>~<tlid> (e.g., MCCABC1XY0416~e7R9d3L2-Q9vS6pP1_WzEh)

Key details:

  • Delimiter: ~ (tilde) – fixed and safe.
  • TLID: Exactly 22 characters ([A-Za-z0-9_-] only).
  • Total length: Variable (Trace ID) + 1 (~) + 22 (TLID).

Integration requirements

  1. Receive: Copy schemeReferenceID from our response unchanged.
  2. Send back: For subsequent MITs, resubmit the full value (including ~<tlid>).
  3. Validation: No client-side changes needed – our gateway handles parsing and validation.
  4. Backward compatibility: Single-value schemeReferenceID (without ~) continues to work as before.


Example flows

Initial authorization (CIT):

Response: schemeReferenceID=MCCABC1XY0416~e7R9d3L2-Q9vS6pP1_WzEh

Subsequent MIT:

Request: schemeReferenceID=MCCABC1XY0416~e7R9d3L2-Q9vS6pP1_WzEh


What You must ensure

  • No parsing: Treat schemeReferenceID as opaque string – do not split or modify.
  • Full resubmission: Always send the complete response value for linked transactions.
  • Length limits: Respect existing field limits (typically 64 chars).

https://developer.computop.com/display/EN/TransactionId


Future migration

Once Mastercard fully deprecates Trace ID:

  • Format simplifies to schemeReferenceID=<tlid> (22 chars).
Transaction including reservation of an invoice amount X

If you want to update/convert to a valid SchemereferenceID during a regular payment, i.e. the customer should also be charged for an amount X, use the standard credit card interfaces (...payssl.aspx or ...paynow.aspx).
Important here is that the JSON object credentialOnFile must be initialized as CIT and initial=true. This makes a 3DS challenge mandatory and the SchemereferenceID is generated based on this and can be used as MIT for further subsequent collections. 

Card verification - 0.00€ transaction

If you want to update/convert to a valid SchemereferenceID for an account verification (check the card data at the bank with a 0.00€ transaction), please also use the standard credit card interfaces (...payssl.aspx or ...paynow.aspx). Here also it is important that the transaction is initialized with the JSON object credentialOnFile as CIT and initial=true. This makes a 3DS challenge mandatory and the SchemereferenceID is generated based on this and can be used as MIT for further subsequent collections.

In addition, in this case please also send the key value pair parameter AccVerify, this will trigger a 0.00 transaction downstream.

Common information

The SchemereferenceID is a unique transaction identifier provided directly from the card schemes like VISA and MC in order to uniquely reference a transaction in the whole payment ecosystem. It was introduced initially by VISA in accordance to their Framework specifications like COF (Credential On File) and MIT (Merchant Initiated Transactions), relevant to use cases involving transaction types such as Recurring, UCOF (MIT), Incremental, Delayed Authorization, Resubmission etc.

With the release of EMV 3DS specifications it came as a requirement also for MasterCard to make use of such a unique identifier which they called “traceID” or “grandfathering ID”. The logic behind it, is that the Issuer could rely on this identifier to link the initial payment with all the subsequent ones related to a standing order in a COF or MIT regime. This will allow the Issuer to apply different transaction rules (i.e. no CVV/CVC, no additional authentication in EMV 3DS) for all the subsequent payments.

For Initial payments (Establishment of an Agreement) after enforcement date of the PSD2 regulation the merchants
must save the “schemeReferenceID” value provided in the response and submit it to Paygate in all the subsequent payments related to that Initial agreement. As for VISA the “schemeReferenceID” will be the equivalent of the previous Paygate parameter “TransactionID” that the merchants are currently submitting in accordance to COF & MIT Frameworks.