Card scheme

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Card schemes are payment networks linked to payment cards, such as debit or credit cards, of which a bank or any other eligible financial institution can become a member. By becoming a member of the scheme, the member then gets the possibility to issue cards or acquire merchants operating on the network of that card scheme. [1] [2] UnionPay, Visa and MasterCard are three of the largest global brands, known as card schemes, or card brands. Billions of transactions [3] go through their cards on a yearly basis.

Contents

Types

The card schemes come in two main varieties - a three-party scheme (or closed scheme) or a four-party scheme (or open scheme).

Three-party scheme

Card schemes3.jpg

A three-party scheme consists of three main parties, as described in the adjacent diagram.

In this model, the issuer (having the relationship with the cardholder) and the acquirer (having the relationship with the merchant) are the same entity. This means that there is no need for any charges between the issuer and the acquirer. Since it is a franchise setup, there is only one franchisee in each market, which is the incentive in this model. There is no competition within the brand; rather, you compete with other brands.

Examples of this setup are Diners Club, Discover Card, and American Express, although in recent times these schemes have also partnered with other issuers and acquirers in order to boost their circulation and acceptance, and Diners Club now operates as a four-party scheme in many regions. [4]

Four-party scheme

Card schemes4.jpg

In a four-party scheme (also referred to as Four Corners Model, the issuer and acquirer are different entities, and this type of scheme is open for other institutions to join and issue their own cards. This is the type of card scheme used by brands such as Visa, Mastercard, Verve Card, UnionPay and RuPay. There are no limitations as to who may join the scheme, as long as the requirements of the scheme are met.

Processes

The card scheme uses the respective guidelines [5] [6] to process the card exchange data from the acquiring to the issuing bank, and vice versa, until the payment [7] is fully completed (or denied). Credit and debit cards work with a four-party scheme, completing an open-circle framework that permits consistent flow of transactions; thus, allowing the banks to handle the whole process.

Card schemes aim to make the transaction convenient and automated for all parties involved in the loop, with the core belief that clients end up spending more than intended when the payment process is simple.

Key parties

Cardholder

A cardholder is a consumer, who owns the debit or credit card, issued by their bank, or other financial institution. They aren't legally obliged to use a single card scheme and may own various types of cards, issued by numerous institutions.

Card issuer

The card issuer, as the name implies, issues credit, debit, and prepaid cards from any of the available card schemes to all clients who went through a screening process and are, therefore, qualified to own a bank account. Card issuers can be not only banks but any other certified financial institution.

Acquiring bank

The acquiring bank (also known as obtaining bank), is the organization that provides administration consent to the merchant and validates their transaction process.

Merchant

Any business, or individual, that receives payment based on the product or service, which they offer.

Payment processor

The payment processing company imparts and transfers data for a client's credit or debit card to both the issuing and acquiring bank. The processor likewise checks for security issues, ensuring that the client's card information is right, and all data is entered correctly. Also, the same party deals with incorrect or accidental charges.

Payment gateway

A payment gateway is a key party, responsible for online transactions, passing card data from consumer to merchant, and to a relevant bank through the card scheme. The process usually takes place at POS terminals in retail locations, or by means of online payment services for websites. A payment gateway imparts whether the charge has been processed by the cardholder's bank and moves it further for settlement.

Fees

Card scheme fees are the expenses that are paid by acquiring banks, which, on the other hand, charge merchants through transaction fees. Card scheme fees are not openly uncovered, and no outside parties knows the genuine figure.

Those fees might incorporate quite a few charges, some of which are - fixed or transaction fees, unrelated to the individual payment. Factors, such as the card type, payment method, and geographic area might influence the variable fees.

Interchange fees

Interchange fees [8] (or trade fees) are transaction charges that the acquiring bank pays when a payment is being processed via debit or credit card. The expenses are paid to the issuing bank and cover costs, such as processing fees, bad debt, and charges due to risk and potential fraudulent activities.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">EFTPOS</span> Type of electronic payment system

Electronic funds transfer at point of sale is an electronic payment system involving electronic funds transfers based on the use of payment cards, such as debit cards or credit cards, at payment terminals located at points of sale. EFTPOS technology was developed during the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa Inc.</span> American multinational financial services corporation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mastercard</span> American multinational financial services corporation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dynamic currency conversion</span> Foreign exchange process

Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) or cardholder preferred currency (CPC) is a process whereby the amount of a credit card transaction is converted at the point of sale, ATM or internet to the currency of the card's country of issue. DCC is generally provided by third party operators in association with the merchant, and not by a card issuer. Card issuers permit DCC operators to offer DCC in accordance with the card issuers' processing rules. However, using DCC, the customer is usually charged an amount in excess of the transaction amount converted at the normal exchange rate, though this may not be obviously disclosed to the customer at the time. The merchant, the merchant's bank or ATM operator usually impose a markup on the transaction, in addition to the exchange rate that would normally apply, sometimes by as much as 18%.

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Interchange fee is a term used in the payment card industry to describe a fee paid between banks for the acceptance of card-based transactions. Usually for sales/services transactions it is a fee that a merchant's bank pays a customer's bank.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rede S.A.</span>

Rede known as Redecard is a Brazilian multi-brand acquirer with 25 brands in its portfolio, for credit, debit and benefit cards. Its activities include merchant acquiring, capturing, transmission, processing and settlement of credit and debit card transactions, prepayment of receivables to merchants, rental of POS terminals, check verification through POS terminals, credit card machine and the capture and transmission of transactions using benefit-voucher, private-label cards and loyalty programs such as Multiplus. The company is the first largest in its sector. The company was traded in BM&F Bovespa and disclosed in 2012, 24, September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Card security code</span> Security feature on payment cards

A card security code is a series of numbers that, in addition to the bank card number, is printed on a credit or debit card. The CSC is used as a security feature for card not present transactions, where a personal identification number (PIN) cannot be manually entered by the cardholder. It was instituted to reduce the incidence of credit card fraud.

The Four Corners model, often referred to as the Four Party Scheme is the most used card scheme in card payment systems worldwide. This model was introduced in the 1990s. It is a user-friendly card payment system based on an interbank clearing system and economic model established on multilateral interchange fees (MIF) paid between banks or other payment institutions.

References

  1. Rupp, Martin (April 22, 2021). "Cardholder, Merchant, Issuer & Acquirer - The Four Corners Model for Payment Security and Key Management". Cryptomathic.
  2. Études et activités bancaires et financières (January 2013). "An interbank payment card system for the benefit of all" (PDF). Fédération Bancaire Française. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  3. de Best, Raynor (July 2021). "Number of purchase transactions on global general purpose card brands". Statista.
  4. Laurer, Christoph (2022-03-10). "How Online Card-Based Payments Function". trimplement blog. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  5. Summary of changes 2020 (December 2020). "Mastercard card scheme - Rules and guidelines" (PDF). Mastercard. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2021-08-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. Visa core rules 2021 (April 2021). "Visa card scheme - Product and service rules" (PDF). Visa.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. "The payment industry's biggest trends in 2021". Insider Intelligence. July 2021.
  8. "Mastercard and Visa - revisions to interchange rates between the UK and the EEA". Bambora. May 2021.