---
title: "Card recognition"
description: "Use transaction details for specific customer journeys."
url: "https://docs.adyen.com/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition"
source_url: "https://docs.adyen.com/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition.md"
canonical: "https://docs.adyen.com/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition"
last_modified: "2020-03-27T16:16:00+01:00"
language: "en"
---

# Card recognition

Use transaction details for specific customer journeys.

[View source](/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition.md)

Card recognition refers to using payment data to check what card the shopper has presented. This information lets you implement scenarios like:

* **Card-based customer identification**: For example, you use card acquisition to keep track of when a driver enters and leaves a parking garage. This allows you to calculate the amount due.

* **Card check before refund**: Before issuing an unreferenced refund, you use card acquisition to verify if the shopper is using the same card for the refund as for the initial payment.

* **Gift card usage**: You use card acquisition to check if the shopper is using a gift card. If you do not want to accept the gift card for this transaction, you cancel the card acquisition and ask for a different card. Or if you want to stimulate usage of your gift card, you give extra discounts in the payment following the card acquisition.

* **Tax-free shopping**: You use the issuer country/region and the card BIN returned in the card acquisition response to determine whether the transaction qualifies for a tax refund.

## General preparation

To implement scenarios based on card recognition, you need to understand:

* The [card and shopper identifiers](/point-of-sale/card-acquisition/identifiers) that you receive in API responses.
* [Card acquisition](/point-of-sale/card-acquisition). This lets you retrieve card and shopper identifiers before you take a next step, without making a payment yet.

## What do you want to do?

###### [Card-based identification](/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition/identification)

[Identify a payment card at the start and finish of a process, to calculate the amount due.](/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition/identification)

###### [Card check before refund](/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition/before-refund)

[Before issuing an unreferenced refund, verify that the same card is used as for the payment.](/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition/before-refund)

###### [Tax-free shopping](/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition/tax-free-shopping)

[Check if a payment qualifies for a tax refund, and facilitate refunding to the card used for the payment.](/point-of-sale/shopper-recognition/tax-free-shopping)
