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A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The card usually consists of the bank's name, a card number, the cardholder's name, and an expiration date, on either the front or the back. Many new cards now have a chip on them, which allows people to use their card by touch (contactless), or by inserting the card and keying in a PIN as with swiping the magnetic stripe. Debit cards are similar to a credit card, but the money for the purchase must be in the cardholder's bank account at the time of the purchase and is immediately transferred directly from that account to the merchant's account to pay for the purchase.
A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card, is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart cards include a pattern of metal contacts to electrically connect to the internal chip. Others are contactless, and some are both. Smart cards can provide personal identification, authentication, data storage, and application processing. Applications include identification, financial, public transit, computer security, schools, and healthcare. Smart cards may provide strong security authentication for single sign-on (SSO) within organizations. Numerous nations have deployed smart cards throughout their populations.
Visa Inc. is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards.
A charge card is a type of credit card that enables the cardholder to make purchases which are paid for by the card issuer, to whom the cardholder becomes indebted. The cardholder is obliged to repay the debt to the card issuer in full by the due date, usually on a monthly basis, or be subject to late fees and restrictions on further card use. Charge cards are distinct from traditional credit cards, which are revolving credit instruments that do not need to be paid in full every month and a balance may be carried over, on which interest is paid. Charge cards are typically issued without spending limits, whereas credit cards usually have a specified credit limit that the cardholder may not exceed. Most charge cards are held by businesses, corporations or executives thereof, and are issued to customers with a good or excellent credit score.
The American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Express Tower, in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. Amex is the fourth-largest card network globally based on purchase volume, behind China UnionPay, Visa, and Mastercard. 141.2 million Amex cards were in force worldwide as of December 31, 2023, with an average annual spend per card member of US$24,059. That year, Amex handled over $1.7 trillion in purchase volume on its network. Amex is one of the largest US banks, and is ranked 77th on the Fortune 500 and 28th on the list of the most valuable brands by Forbes. In 2023, it was ranked 63rd in the Forbes Global 2000. Amex also owns a direct bank.
Mastercard Inc., stylized as MasterCard from 1979 to 2016 and as mastercard from 2016 to 2019, is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, USA. It offers a range of payment transaction processing and other related-payment services. Throughout the world, its principal business is to process payments between the banks of merchants and the card-issuing banks or credit unions of the purchasers who use the Mastercard-brand debit, credit and prepaid cards to make purchases. Mastercard has been publicly traded since 2006.
Diners Club International (DCI), founded as Diners Club, is a charge card company owned by Discover Financial Services. Formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider (1909–1964), Matty Simmons, and Alfred S. Bloomingdale, it was the first independent payment card company in the world, successfully establishing the financial card service of issuing travel and entertainment (T&E) credit cards as a viable business. Diners Club International and its franchises serve individuals from around the world with operations in 59 countries.
Touch 'n Go is a contactless smart card system used for electronic payments in Malaysia. The system was introduced in 1997 and is widely used for toll payments on highways, public transportation, parking, and other services. The card is equipped with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip that allows users to make payments by simply tapping the card on a reader device. Touch 'n Go cards can be reloaded with funds either online or at designated reload kiosks. The system has become a popular and convenient way for Malaysians to make cashless transactions.
HSBC Finance Corporation is a financial services company and a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings. It is the sixth-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the United States. HSBC Finance Corporation was formed from the legal entity that had been known as Household International—shortly after Household International settled for US$486 million in charges pertaining to predatory lending, after burning through $389 million in legal fees and expenses—and is now expanding its consumer finance model via the HSBC Group to Brazil, India, Argentina and elsewhere.
UnionPay, also known as China UnionPay or by its abbreviation, CUP or UPI internationally, is a Chinese state-owned financial services corporation headquartered in Shanghai, China. It provides bank card services and a major card scheme in mainland China. Founded on 26 March 2002, China UnionPay is an association for China's banking card industry, operating under the approval of the People's Bank of China. It is also an electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) network, and the only interbank network in China that links all the automatic teller machine (ATMs) of all banks throughout the country. UnionPay cards can be used in 181 countries and regions around the world.
Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and make payments by electronic transfer with a payment terminal and access automated teller machines (ATMs). Such cards are known by a variety of names, including bank cards, ATM cards, client cards, key cards or cash cards.
The Malaysian Electronic Payment System (MEPS) is an interbank network service provider in Malaysia. In August 2017, MEPS merged with Malaysian Electronic Clearing Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyClear) to form Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet).
ATM usage fees are what many banks and interbank networks charge for the use of their automated teller machines (ATMs). In some cases, these fees are assessed solely for non-members of the bank; in other cases, they apply to all users. There is usually a higher fee for the use of White-label ATMs rather than bank-owned ATMs.
An interchange fee is 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.
AmBank Group comprises AMMB Holdings Berhad is one of the largest banking groups in Malaysia whose core businesses are retail banking, wholesale banking, Islamic banking, and life and general insurance.
Discover Financial Services, Inc. is an American financial services company that owns and operates Discover Bank, an online bank that offers checking and savings accounts, personal loans, home equity loans, student loans and credit cards. It also owns and operates the Discover and Pulse networks, and owns Diners Club International. Discover Card is the third largest credit card brand in the United States, when measured by cards in force, with nearly 50 million cardholders. Discover is currently headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Riverwoods, Illinois.
A credit card is a payment card, usually issued by a bank, allowing its users to purchase goods or services, or withdraw cash, on credit. Using the card thus accrues debt that has to be repaid later. Credit cards are one of the most widely used forms of payment across the world.
NTT Data Payment Services is a payment services provider company headquartered in Mumbai, India.
First Premier Bank, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is an issuer of MasterCard brand credit cards in the United States. The bank is known for specializing in a wide range of subprime credit cards that are marketed to individuals with low credit scores.
Ukrainian Processing Center is a Ukrainian company founded in 1997 which provides processing services and software for banks. UPC was the first Ukrainian company within the sphere of processing that received MSP and TPP status in Visa and Mastercard. In April 1997 UPC processed the first ATM EC/MC card transaction. Since 2005 UPC has become part of the Raiffeisen Bank International. The head office of UPC is based in Kyiv. Ukrainian Processing Center provides services to banks in Central and East Europe in the sphere of processing payment cards, merchant acquiring and ATM channel management. UPC also offers integrated IT systems for electronic commerce, card transactions monitoring systems of fraud prevention, card issuing system and SMS banking service. Moreover, UPC was the initiator of the establishment of the united ATM network "ATMoSphere", which consists of payment cards issuing banks. Annually UPC processes more than 400 million of payment card transactions.