# Payment Enhancements
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/integrations-types/hosted-session/integrate-gateway-features/session-enhancements/index.md

After you have implemented the basic initial transactions you need in your system, consider what kind of enhancements you want to add to your payments to both improve the payer experience and to minimize the risks for your own business.

You can enhance your payments with:

* Details about ordered goods or services to help meet payments compliance requirements
* Improvements for payer experience
* Additional data to improve interchange rates
* Easier authentication

## Details about ordered goods or services {#details-about-ordered-goods-or-services}

You can add various kinds of details about the goods or services the payer is ordering into the initial request. You can provide details about the order in general and about individual line items included in it. Use the order and `order.item[n]` objects in the request body for these details. For more information, see [Order and Line Item Data](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/gateway-features/trans-enrich-data/order-and-line-item-data/index.md).

If you provide airline-, cruising-, or healthcare-related services, you can define various additional details about the service being bought:

* For airline data, such as flights, passengers, tickets, and itineraries, use the airline object in the request body. For more information, see [Airline Data](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/gateway-features/data-and-reporting/supp-data/airline-data/index.md).
* For cruising data, such as cruise, ship, passengers, and travel agent, use the cruise object in the request body. For more information, see [Cruise Data](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/gateway-features/data-and-reporting/supp-data/cruise-data/index.md).
* For healthcare data, such as approved vision, dental, and prescription purchases, use the `order.item[n]` object in the request body. For more information, see \[Healthcare Data\].

All these details can be stored in the gateway and retrieved with individual transactions or orders or included in [reports](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/gateway-features/data-and-reporting/reporting/index.md) you can download from the gateway. They can be used to support and streamline business processes, such as reconciliation and reporting.

## Improvements for the payer experience {#improvements-for-the-payer-experience}

To improve the overall payer experience on your web site and with your business, you can enhance your payments with:

* Email notifications  

  For merchants who send only occasional payments, if you subscribe to email notifications on the Merchant Administration, the gateway can send a notification to the payer's email address whenever their order is successfully received (a PAY or AUTHORIZE transaction is processed) or a refund is issued.

* Descriptions for account statements  

  You can help reduce chargebacks by ensuring that the payer can easily recognize the payment made to you on their account or bank statement by including a descriptor text in your request. The bank adds the descriptor to the payer's statement for that transaction. Use the `order.statementDescriptor` object in the request body. For more information, see [Statement Descriptor Data](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/gateway-features/data-and-reporting/supp-data/index.md).

* Storing the payment details to serve returning customers  

  By storing the payment details of your payer (with their approval), you can provide a better service for returning customers, as they do not need to enter their payment details again on your web site. You can use various [Tokenization services](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/security-and-fraud/tokenization/index.md) to store the payer's payment details in the gateway. When the payer returns to your web site, you display the masked card number to allow the payer to determine whether they want to use the same card. And when you send the payment transaction, you only need to include the token, as the gateway already has the related card details available.

## Additional data to improve interchange rates {#additional-data-to-improve-interchange-rates}

Sometimes adding more data to your request can create cost savings, especially if you are accepting card payments. Providing more details in your request can make it easier for the card issuer to determine whether to accept the payment and consequently result in better interchange rates for you.

If you accept business, corporate, or purchase cards, consider adding to your request:

* Enhanced transaction data, such as customer reference number, invoice number, and sales tax amount
* Order line item details

For more information on the exact data to provide and the fields to use, see [Level 2 and Level 3 data](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/gateway-features/trans-enrich-data/order-and-line-item-data/level-2-and-3/index.md).

## Easier authentication {#easier-authentication}

Preventing fraud and ensuring that the payer can get authenticated easily provides benefits to both sides: you can be sure that you receive the payment for your goods, and the payer can see you as a trustworthy merchant that minimizes checkout friction caused by authentication-related processes during a simple purchase.

To enhance the security of your payments:

* If you are managing card-not-present transactions, consider providing data about the Internet connection the payer is using, such as their IP address and hostname. The card issuer can use these details to assess the transaction risk level, speeding up and helping the authorization process. For more information, see [Customer Internet Data](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/gateway-features/data-and-reporting/supp-data/cust-internet-data/index.md).
* If you are using EMV 3-D Secure authentication for your card payments, aim to provide extra details in the request about the payer's purchase history. This can increase the chances of the Access Control Server (ACS) authenticating the payer using the frictionless flow instead of requiring the challenge flow and additional actions from the payer. For more information on the relevant fields, see the What can I do to increase the chances of frictionless flow? FAQ in [EMV 3-D Secure Authentication](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-gateway/documentation/security-and-fraud/authentication/3d-secure-auth/index.md).