How Do Merchant Accounts Work?

Credit card processing seems simple enough. However, there are lots of moving parts behind the scenes. Here is a simplified, step by step list that reveals the whole process:
Authorization
1. Your customer presents their credit card (or the card number, expiration date and security code) to you or your employee.
2. You swipe the card or key [...]

Posted on July 16th, 2008 by Robb Lejuwaan in Basics, Merchant Account Authorization, basics, batching, cardholder, credit card data, credit card processing, credit card terminal, eCommerce, first data, Interchange Plus, Issuing Bank, MasterCard, Merchant Account, merchant account provider, moving parts, payment gateway, payment processor, pos system, Rates and Fees, swipe, Terminals, tsys, Visa

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Who Get’s Your Merchant Account Fees?

The Biggest Chunk: The Issuing Bank (the bank that “issued” your customer’s their credit card)
This part of your fees are called “Interchange.” Depending on the type of business, size of transaction and type used these fees range between 1.03% and 2.70% plus transaction fees of $0 to $0.15.
Next: Visa or MasterCard (the associations)
These are called [...]