A Credit Card Processor is a company certified by the associations to handle the transfer of credit card transactions and settlement funds between different entities. On the Acquiring side of the business, a processor will manage transactions that take place at its customers’ merchants, while on the Issuing side, a processor will manage transactions made by its customers’ cardholders.

Credit Cards allow consumers to make purchases using a line of credit, while Debit Card transactions are authorized based on the Checking or Savings Account available balance. Debit Cards can also be used to perform banking transactions at most ATMs.

Offline Debit Card cards look like a credit card, are embossed, and are accepted anywhere Visa and MasterCard is accepted; they are authorized based on the previous day’s balances. PIN-based Debit Cards do not have embossing and are only accepted wherever Debit Networks (i.e. Maestro & Electron) are accepted. Additionally, PIN-Based Debit cards must be present at the time transactions are made since the cardholder is required to enter a PIN.

Chargebacks are disputed transactions that Issuers (cardholders) return to Acquirers (merchants). When a Cardholder’s chargeback reason is valid and the Acquirer is unable to justify the transaction, the amount may be debited from the merchant and credited to the cardholder.

A 6-digit number assigned by the Credit Card Associations (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc) to identify an Issuer or Acquirer as Member for Authorization, Clearing, and Settlement processing.

MOTO is an abbreviation for Mail Order/Telephone Order; these are transactions that occur without a card being present.