Online Credit Card Processing

				Acquring Bank	Credit Card Network	Issuing Bank
		Payment Gateway

1. Your customer sends his or her credit card number, name, billing address, and other details of the transaction to you through the Internet.
   
   
2. You forward the transaction details and card number to the acquiring bank.
   
   
3. The acquiring bank sends the transaction data through the MasterCard or Visa network to the issuing bank.
   
   
4. The bank that issued the card ("issuing bank") performs a variety of security checks, including available funds, address verification, and card number validation.
   
   
5. The issuing bank tells the credit card network whether or not the transaction is approved, and in turn, the credit card network notifies the acquiring bank and you.
   
   
6. You send a request to the acquiring bank to capture the funds.
   
   
7. The acquiring bank forwards the request through the credit card network to the issuing bank.
   
   
8. Transactions are settled nightly when the issuing bank pays the acquiring bank and the acquiring bank transfers the funds into your merchant bank account (less the bank's fees for servicing the transaction).
   
   
9. The credit card statement shows up in the customer's mailbox with line-item details of the transaction, including the name of your company as you set it up with the acquiring bank. The customer pays the issuing bank the balance due at a later time.