Worldwide, customers are increasingly making a shift to using credit cards instead of cash for transactions. Because of that, businesses must have systems in place to accept those transactions to keep up in the market. Here’s all you need to know about credit card processing solutions.

The Parties

Credit card payments happen quickly and in real-time. However, there are various parties involved in the transaction to make it possible. Here’s a list of parties that are involved in this online payment processing:

Cardholder: The customer who wants to make the transaction via their credit card.

Merchant: Business that’s selling the services and goods that the cardholder wants to buy.

Acquiring bank: The bank is linked with the merchant. It will transfer the money to the merchant’s account and provide the equipment needed to make the sale.

Issuing bank: This is the bank that issues the credit card that the cardholder uses.

Card association: This is the card company that oversees the transaction. It’s usually one of the four major companies: MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express. These associations monitor transactions and create guidelines.

The Process

Each credit card transaction involves the parties mentioned above along with three actions: authorization, settlement, and funding. Authorization happens within a few seconds, and settlement and funding can take up to 24 hours.

As the business swipes the credit card, the authorization process begins. By swiping, the business requests authorization from the acquiring bank.

After that, the transaction is sent to the card association and later to the cardholder’s bank. All the parties get notified about the transaction’s approval, which enables the merchant to accept the payment.

After the authorization, the steps of settlement and funding begin. The merchant sends a list of transactions to their bank, and then the bank sends those transactions to the credit card associations. They, in turn, contact the issuing bank to charge the transaction of the cardholder’s account.

Finally, the issuing bank sends the transaction cost to the acquiring bank, and the acquiring bank deposits the money into the merchant’s bank account.

Credit Card Technology

Credit card transactions require ever-evolving technology and equipment to expedite the payment process.

EMV Smart Terminals are effective and basic pieces of technology that process credit card payments. These terminals scan the chip or the magnetic stripes on the credit card to process transactions.

At Galalee Software Solutions, our online payment processing solutions use Payanywhere Bluetooth credit card readers, Smart terminal, Smart terminal mini, and Smart terminal flex to modernize your point-of-sale transactions.

Revolutionize Your Online Payment Processing Solutions

If you’re looking for top-of-the-line payment processing services, get in touch with us! Whether you need a payment terminal, mobile app, or well-integrated software, our professionals can help you streamline your payment processes and find success. To know more about our services, you can call us at (360) 876-5830 or email us at [email protected]