Credit Processing

As alluded to under “what is credit processing” there are several distinct steps undertaken each time a credit card payment is processed.

Some years ago, and on occasion nowadays, you may have encountered what is commonly known as a “zap machine”.  Using this device a vendor would taken an imprint of your credit card and send this to their bank along with your signature and the amount of the purchase for processing.

These days however, most credit transactions are processed electronically.  Various information concerning the purchase, the credit card of the customer and otherwise is sent electronically to the merchant bank for:

• Authorization: the process whereby various checks and procedures are carried out to ensure that the card can be charged;
• Capture: information concerning the transaction is captured and stored; and
• Deposit: the purchase amount is placed in to the merchant account of the vendor from whom goods or services are being purchased.