A description of the major participants in the credit card transaction and settlement process as well as their roles will help you understand the process:
- Authorize.Net® acts as a bridge between your company and the financial entities that handle the processing and settlement of credit card transactions.
- Your Merchant Bank Account is the bank account that allows you to receive settlement funds for credit card transactions processed through the Internet.
- The Acquiring Bank is the bank that holds your merchant bank account. If you signed up for the Authorize.Net Payment Gateway through Pictor Design or other sales organization, you may not have a direct relationship with your acquiring bank.
- The Processor refers to the payment processor that processes credit card transactions (e.g. TSYS, FDMS Nashville).
- The Credit Card Issuer is the financial institution or bank that issued the credit card to your customer.
- The Credit Card Interchange System refers to the system established by the credit card associations that allows acquiring banks to submit credit card transactions to the credit card issuing bank for settlement on behalf of their merchant clients.
