Learn how cards payments systems work: card schemes in the world, the main players, the offerings, innovation and much more.
Payment card processing involves many steps and processes carried out by the parties involved. Merchants pay fees to accept payment cards and for the services provided to them by acquiring banks and processors. Acquirers and issuers must set up and maintain systems for the card processing and messages exchange through the card networks. Building and maintaining […]
In the Four Corner Model for card payments, the main players are the Cardholder, the Issuer, the Merchant and the Acquirer. Often you read or hear about other players like Payment Gateways or Payment Processors which are not listed among the main four. You may then wonder what they are and what roles they play […]
Let’s start with a picture with a payment gateway since “a picture is worth a thousand words”. A Payment Gateway can be seen as the online equivalent of a physical POS terminal in a shop or restaurant. Like the POS terminal which captures card information, encrypts and sends it securely to the acquirer, the Payment […]
The payment card offerings are quite wide and varied. The purpose of this article is not to provide an exhaustive list of all existing offerings (it is impossible), but to present the main types of cards and related services. The payment card allows the cardholder to access to or benefit from services such as account inquiry, […]
The three corner model in card payments, also known as or closed loop model and three party scheme, involves three main players: the cardholder, the merchant and a third entity, the card network, responsible for the card issuance and the acquisition of transactions. In this model, the issuer (which manages the relationship with the cardholder) […]
In a previous article, we saw in pretty detailed way what happens during a card payment transaction and the messages that are exchanged between the different participants. Cardholders does not use their cards only to make purchases. They use it also to withdraw cash from their account (the one to which the card is linked […]
What happens during a card transaction, from time the transaction is initiated until funds are debited from cardholder’s account and credited to merchant’s account? How is the information exchanged between the different participants for the successful completion of a card transaction? This article will provide answers to these questions and other relevant information to help […]
In the world of card payments, transactions are classified in two groups: Card Present (CP) and Card Not Present (CNP) Transactions. What are these types of payments? How are they initiated? What are the differences and the risks associated with each type of transaction? This article will answer to these questions. Read on. The presence […]
The Four Corner Model, also called Four-party scheme, is fundamental in payments. It is the model under which the vast majority of payment systems in the world operate. The Four Corner Model for card payments shows the different actors presented in the introductory article and the links between them. For this article, it is important to say in the […]
Payment cards are part of our daily lives. Many of us carry one or more cards in the wallet and we can hardly imagine our lives without them. For us who want to understand payments, it is worth taking some time to look at a payment card thoroughly. That is the purpose of this article. Everything that […]