Release 23

Enhanced Options for Payment Application (DEV-9024) 

• A new parameter, Default Payment Collection Method, allows you to specify which invoices should be paid off first when a payment is submitted. The available choices for the parameter are:
  • FIFO (First In First Out) (default);
  • FDFO (First Due First Out); or
  • Manual (Unapplied Payment): the payment will not be applied and you will need to manually apply the payment in the Aria application.

Notes: This parameter will be honored:

whenever Aria attempts a payment collection (examples: after a plan addition or during the daily batch process);

• if you did not pass a <payment_application_method> into the collect_from_account_m or record_external_payment_m API. The value that you pass into the <payment_application_method> field will override this parameter.

• When you apply a payment, you can now select the billing group and payment method to use for the payment.
• To get results faster, when you create or update a billing group, you can now search for your chosen collection group from a new Filter Collection Groups screen. You can also access this new screen when you assign a new master plan to a customer. Previously, performance may have been slow if you tried to find a collection group by scrolling through a large number of entries in the Collection Group drop-down list.
• If you subscribe to event notification payload version 2.0 (as you requested from Aria Customer Support), your collection group details are now included in the Account Billing Group Modified event (738).

New Alternate Payment Methods Supported in Aria's Adyen Integration (DEV-9324)

The following Alternate Payment Methods (APMs) are now supported in Aria’s Adyen integration:​

• Giropay (method_id = 41)
• Tokenized Direct Debit (method_id = 37) - Not an APM
• Klarna (method_id = 42)
• Tokenized Klarna (method_id = 43) - Not an APM
• Qiwi (method_id = 44)
• Tokenized Qiwi (method_id = 45) - Not an APM
• Yandex (method_id = 33)

Notes:

Recurring payments are supported for all above APMs except for Yandex and refund transactions are supported for all APMs.

• Due to some issues involving Klarna, which are outside of Aria's control, it is strongly recommended that you test Klarna ​thoroughly before using it in production.​

​

New Alternate Payment Methods Supported in Aria's WorldPay Integration (DEV-9325)

The following Alternate Payment Methods (APMs) are now supported in Aria’s WorldPay integration:

• SOFORT (method_id = 36)
• Giropay (method_id = 41)
• Klarna (method_id = 42)
• Qiwi (method_id = 44)
• WebMoney (method_id = 34)
• Yandex (method_id = 33)

​​Note: Recurring payments are not currently supported for the above APMs and refund transactions are supported for all APMs except Giropay.​

Ingenico Payment Processor Support for Giropay and QIWI Payment Methods (DEV-9326)

This feature adds support in Aria's Ingenico Payment Processor integration for alternative payment methods Giropay and QIWI.

Password Reset Functionality Improved (DEV-9446)

For improved security, the password reset functionality has been enhanced. Now, when your Aria application users request a password reset, they will receive an email containing a link that they can click on to create a new password. In addition, users are no longer asked to answer a secret question when they change their password after their first login or when they reset their password.

Net Terms in Payment Methods Tab Renamed (DEV-9481)

Instances of "Net Terms" appearing in drop-down menus in the Aria Payment Method tab have been renamed in order to urge users to use "Payment Terms" instead.  Impacted drop-downs include the Payment Plans primary and secondary pay method drop-down and the Billing Group primary and secondary pay method drop-down.

For the following payment method drop-down options, descriptions have been changed to the following:

• Net Terms 30 to "Deprecated Net Terms 30 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 10 to "Deprecated Net Terms 10 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 15 to "Deprecated Net Terms 15 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 60 to "Deprecated Net Terms 60 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 0 to "Deprecated Net Terms 0 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 45 to "Deprecated Net Terms 45 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 35 to "Deprecated Net Terms 35 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 75 to "Deprecated Net Terms 75 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 90 to "Deprecated Net Terms 90 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 120 to "Deprecated Net Terms 120 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 25 to "Deprecated Net Terms 25 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 14 to "Deprecated Net Terms 14 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 180 to "Deprecated Net Terms 180 - use Payment Terms"
• Net Terms 27 to "Deprecated Net Terms 27 - use Payment Terms"

New Payment Gateway: DIBS DT (DEV-9482)

Aria Billing Cloud now supports the DIBS DT platform, which is now available as a new payment gateway (DIBSDT) in the Aria UI under Configuration > Payments > New button. DIBS DT credit card support comprises Visa/Visa Electron, Master Card, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, International Maestro, JCB, and Dankort. DIBS is a Skandinavian payment processor.

Learn more about DIBS DT.

Billing Manager Batch Job Performance Improved (DEV-9562)

Aria has improved the performance of its Billing Manager batch job. The Billing Manager batch job runs daily to bill and collect payments from accounts.

New/Updated Replacement Strings Available in Templates (DEV-9588)

You can now display the information described below on your customer's statements and credit memos. To do so, you can include the following new/updated replacement strings in your templates for statements and credit memos:

• insertCreditActivityDesc replacement string (updated): displays the prompt payment discount description;
• insertItemAppliedPromptDiscAmt replacement string (new): displays the total prompt payment discount applied to a charge line item;
• insertNettermsAcctDunBal (updated): for your payment terms customers, displays the balance due on the oldest dunned statement at the account level;  
• insertNettermsBGDunBal replacement string (new): for your payment terms customers, displays the balance due on the oldest dunned statement for the current billing group;  
• insertPymntType replacement (updated): displays the name of a payment term (previously, only payment methods were displayed).

Please contact Aria Customer Support to create/update your templates for statements and credit memos.

Application Fixes

• When creating usage types via Products > Usage Types with a usage type unit of "Minute", only one usage type is created as expected with the usage type unit correctly displayed as "Minute". Previously, duplicate usage types were being created. (TICKET-10618)
• Aria now filters plan templates from the plan selection drop-down menu in the Account Creation screen in the Aria UI. Plan templates, when specified as plans for new accounts, were causing account creation to fail with an "Invalid Master Plan Number" error. (TICKET-17384)
• A fix has been implemented to resolve performance issues when creating a new usage type via the Aria User Interface. This issue was affecting clients having a large number of usage types. (TICKET-17402)
• Rates are now correctly sent in European (decimal) currency format from the Supplemental Plan Summary Details confirmation UI screen to the save procedure when assigning a supplemental plan with custom rate tiers and the currency format is set to European (decimal) format. Previously occurring user defined exception errors no longer occur. (TICKET-17436)
• The billing email address now correctly displays in the statement template when the email address contains the special character '&'. This fix resolves the issue where '&' was incorrectly displaying as '&amp' in the "insertBillEmail" replacement string. (TICKET-17441)
• Payment method level surcharge's are now being correctly applied to the invoice when the surcharge has multiple rate schedules with different currencies. Additionally, create_order_m no longer fails with unexpected errors when creating an order to an account that has a surcharge mapped to a payment method. (TICKET-17457)
• Cash credit lines now show as expected in credit notes. (TICKET-17460)

• The refund limits (set up by Aria Customer Support) for your specified amounts, currencies, and user levels are now honored when your Aria application users try to issue refunds. This means that your users are now prevented from issuing a refund if:
  • the refund amount is above your specified limit; or
  • there is no refund limit set for the currency in which the user is trying to issue the refund; or
  • there is no refund limit set for the user level (example: Basic CSR - Customer Service Representative) trying to issue the refund. (TICKET-17474)
• These 3 fixes have been implemented: (TICKET-17475)
  • Invoices are now created for plans in the pending cancellation status.
  • When a plan is scheduled to be cancelled on its anniversary date, the cancellation date is now based on the recurring billing interval, not the usage billing interval. Example: If a plan has a quarterly recurring interval and a monthly usage interval, that plan's cancellation date will be based on the quarterly recurring interval.
  • Some fields have been updated to clarify the fact that recurring billing is not allowed but usage billing is allowed for plans in the pending termination or pending cancellation status. This field: Recurring Billing has been replaced with this field: Subscription Billing: (Only Usage) on these screens:
    • Plan Status screen for a plan that is in the pending termination or pending cancellation status; and
    • Change Plan Status screen: Supported Operations column for the pending termination and pending cancellation statuses.
  Note: If you set the parameter Rollback usage records and the account's bill date for voided invoice to true and 1) a plan is in pending cancellation status and 2)​ you want to bill for recurring charges on a voided invoice for the plan, you will need to:

  change the plan's status to active;

  then regenerate the invoice.

• The logging timestamps for the Account Search, Account Overview, and Statements & Invoices modules now consistently reflect event dates and times in UTC. (TICKET-17480)

Chase Paymentech Integration Enhanced with Support for Maestro Credit Card (DEV-9315)

If you use Chase Paymentech as a payment gateway, you can now accept payments made using the International Maestro credit card (also referred to as "​Maestro"). ​  ​

To work with Maestro payments, use these pre-existing features:

• You can specify the authorization options for Maestro in your collection group settings for Chase Paymentech (under Configuration > Payments > Collection Groups > Details > System Overrides).
• To process a payment made with Maestro, pass 1 into the <pay_method_type> field in the API that you are using to collect the payment (example: create_acct_complete_m).

Note: Currently, tokenized credit cards are not supported when Maestro payments are processed with Chase Paymentech. To use tokenized credit cards with Maestro, you will need to 1) request that Chase Paymentech enable that payment method for your merchant ID(s), then 2) contact Aria Customer Support to arrange for certification of those enabled payment transactions.

List Plan Instances and Services Eligible for Credits (DEV-9408)

• New output arrays in the APIs listed below provide details about plan instances and services that are eligible for credits:
  • get_credit_details_m API: <eligible_plan_instance_details> and <eligible_service_types> output arrays;
  • get_recurring_credit_info_m API: <eligible_plan_instance_details> output array;
  • get_unapplied_service_credits_m API: <eligible_plan_instance_details> and <eligible_service_plan_details> output arrays.
• The new <eligible_service_plan_details> output array replaces these output fields that are now deprecated in the get_unapplied_service_credits_m API: <eligible_plan_no>, <eligible_plan_name>, <client_eligible_plan_id>, <eligible_service_no>, <eligible_service_name>, and <client_eligible_service_id>.
• These input fields are deprecated in the create_advanced_service_credit_m API: <eligible_plan_no>, <client_eligible_plan_id>, <eligible_service_no>, and <client_eligible_service_id>. You can pass values into the <eligible_service_plans> and/or <client_eligible_service_plan_ids> input arrays to provide the same details previously entered in the deprecated fields.

Send MPIs for Immediate Dunning When Collection Attempts Fail During create_order_m or Via Orders UI (DEV-9456)

If a collection attempt fails for an order invoice when creating an order using create_order_m API or via Orders in the Aria UI, the respective master plan instance (MPI) is now moved to dunning immediately.

The MPI will be sent to dunning for order invoice collection failure only when the client parameter <DUNN_ON_ORDER_ONLY_COLL_FOR_PAYMENT_METHODS> is set to "True" and <AUTO_VOID_ORDER_ON_COLLECT_FAIL> is set to "False" in Configuration > Payments > Payment Settings. 

Updated Descriptions for <invoice_type_cd> (DEV-9571)

The descriptions for the <invoice_type_cd> output field (This field identifies the type of invoice generated) used in various APIs has been updated to reflect the following:

The <invoice_type_cd> is displayed in the following APIs:

• get_invoice_details_m
• get_invoices_to_writeoff_or_dispute_m
• get_invoice_history_m
• get_invoice_information_m

API Fixes

• XML Exception error: Unexpected element: CDATA was being displayed in authorize_electronic_payment_m API response instead of in the correct XML format (TICKET-16091)
• When passing a plan number associated with a plan template in create_acct_complete_m, Aria now returns a more descriptive error message: "Template plans cannot be assigned to accounts." (TICKET-17384)
• When you call the get_plan_instance_information_m API and pass a child account number into the <acct_no> key name in the <query_string> field, an error no longer occurs. (TICKET-17412)
• When a plan instance is created with a plan that has a rollover status configured trigger of <plan_instance> the event is created successfully. Calls to create_acct_complete_m are no longer resulting in error messages when mpi queue event is enabled for the client. (TICKET-17459)
• Calling the API update_acct_plan_multi_m with <plan_status_cd>=1 (Active) to assign a new Master Plan to an existing account now results in the successful assignment of the Master Plan (rather than an "unexpected error"). (TICKET-17483)

• An error no longer occurs when you: (TICKET-17514)

  • call the save_paypal_billing_agreement_m or get_paypal_avs_status_m API; and

  • pass in a <billing_group_no> that does not have a payment method associated with it.