Skip to navigation

Approval methods

How the customer proves it's them before they approve, and what they see on the way.

An approval must come from the customer, not the agent buying for them. So before the customer can approve, they prove it’s them with a one-time code sent by SMS to their own mobile, which an agent doesn’t have.

What the customer sees

3

They ask for a code

A six-digit code is texted to the mobile sent with the quote, naming your brand, for example Your Acme Travel verification code is: 123456, with a reminder not to share it. The page only ever shows the mobile masked to its last digits.

4

They enter it and approve

The approval is recorded and the paused checkout proceeds.

At any point the customer can decline instead, and say why: it wasn’t them, the details are wrong, they changed their mind, or another reason. See Decline reasons.

Bot check

The approval page is designed for human customers. A product can turn on a bot check (Cloudflare Turnstile) for the page’s actions, on its Approval settings: a browser identified as a bot then can’t answer the identity check, ask for a code or approve, so an agent that opens the link itself can’t complete the approval. The customer sees “Checking you’re a human…” while it runs.

Identity check (optional)

A product can ask the customer for one to three of the quote’s details, such as their last name and date of birth, before the page shows anything about the quote. Turn it on in the product’s Approval settings.

  • If the link reaches the wrong person, they see only your brand and the questions.
  • Once the answers match, that browser shows the review until it expires. Another browser is asked again.
  • Approving still needs the code.
  • After five wrong answers, the review expires, for the customer, for the status call and in the portal.

The identity check keeps the quote from someone who only has the link. It doesn’t prove a person is approving: whoever made the quote, an agent included, knows these details.

Limits

RuleValue
Code length6 digits
A code expires after10 minutes by default, or 5, set on Approval settings
Wrong tries per code5 by default, or 3, set on Approval settings
Codes per review3
A new code no sooner than30 seconds after the last
Codes per mobile number5 an hour, across all your reviews
Codes per product100 an hour by default, settable from 1 to 1,000 on Approval settings; live and test are counted apart
Wrong identity check answers per review5, then the review expires
The review link lasts24 hours by default, settable from 15 minutes to 7 days

Codes are single use. A new code replaces the last one.

What an approval records

  • When the customer approved, and how: a one-time code by SMS.
  • Each statement they ticked, with the version of its wording.
  • A fingerprint of exactly what they were shown: the quote, the product version and its documents.
  • The bot check’s verdict on the browser that approved.

The code itself is never stored. Each review in Approvals lists every code sent and when the page was opened. It also verifies what was shown against what’s stored, shows the audit trail, and can be downloaded as a record.

Security notes

  • The code goes to the mobile on the quote. If an agent puts its own number in the quote, the code goes to the agent, so check the mobile comes from the customer.
  • Text messages can be intercepted, for example by SIM swap. A code shows the customer had the phone; it isn’t proof of identity.

Testing

With a test key nothing is texted: the approval page shows the code, so you can approve without a phone. See Test and go live.