Functions and risks of the acquiring bank. Acquiring bank: what is it, why is it needed What is the acquiring bank id

Pay with plastic cards Today it is convenient for both the seller and the buyer. Carrying out such operations requires the creation of a special payment system, where the acquiring bank (from the word "acquire" - to acquire) controls the progress of the transaction, checks the state of the payer's account and transfers Money participants in the transaction.

What is bank acquiring

Acquiring is a system that can accept bank cards to pay for goods or services without using cash. Such payments are made using POS payment terminals (or mPOS options for mobile devices), which can be found at the checkouts of many supermarkets. The buyer inserts his plastic card into such a device, enters a PIN code to authorize the operation, and, please, payment for the goods is made!

A credit institution that services such terminals and makes settlements with trade and service enterprises (TSP) is called an acquiring bank. Such a system of services is convenient for a trade organization, which, by accepting payment with plastic cards, excludes the possibility of receiving a counterfeit banknote and saves on revenue collection services. In addition, according to marketing research, with non-cash payment, the costs of buyers are 10-20% higher than with cash.

Acquiring participants

It is necessary to distinguish between the acquirer and the issuing bank - in the latter case, we are talking about the banking institution that issued the plastic card and where the account is located. In some cases, these two concepts may coincide (for example, a client uses a Russian Standard card, which serves the terminals), but if it comes to buying goods, then there is no difference for the buyer - in any case, no one takes him for services and transactions commission.

What does the processing center do

If the acquiring bank and the issuer represent different organizations, then clear interaction between them is necessary for settlements. These functions are taken over by a special processing center that conducts interbank inquiries about the client's account status and transfers funds. Such a data processing center (DPC) concentrates all information on a secure server connected to closed payment systems (for example, MasterCard). In general, this interaction scheme can be represented as follows:

• The buyer is going to pay with a plastic card through payment terminal.
• After verifying the client, the terminal sends a request to the processing center whether there is the required amount on the user's account.
• The processing center sends a request to the issuing bank to authorize the required amount.
• The issuing bank checks the availability of funds in the buyer's account and gives permission for the transaction if the result is positive.
• The system transfers money to the settlement account of the outlet, the buyer receives a receipt for payment for the goods.

Functions of payment systems

A convenient form of payment, which is formed by acquiring services, provides an opportunity to effectively interact with the MPS - international payment systems (Visa, MasterCard), or their local counterparts ("Zolotaya Korona",), ensuring the fulfillment of the main tasks:

• reliable functioning, transfer of funds to the account and other operations when performing the service;
• efficiency of execution financial transactions when paying in real time;
• the widespread use of payment services, which allows you to feel confident in the store without cash, with only one card.

billing company

Billing is understood as the service of preparing and receiving invoices via the Internet for payment using bank card. In this case, the service organization carries out the transaction to the processing center. Payment service is the only source of income for such a billing company, so it monitors and manages risks very carefully to detect fraudulent transactions.

Functions of the acquiring bank

Providing reception services bank payments through terminals in stores, the acquiring bank carries out all types of financial transactions necessary for the correct settlement of payments between the seller and the buyer. This should be a well-established mechanism with a high level of security, because any failure or error when making a transfer to an account is fraught with financial losses for the client or the issuing bank.

Card Authorization

For operations with a plastic card, you need permission to use it, which is provided by the issuing bank. The function of the acquiring bank for card authorization implies a request that is generated and transmitted to the processing center using a POS terminal. The answer is an alphanumeric code that is printed on the check to confirm the authorization.

Processing requests for a payment card

One of the important functions of the acquirer in customer service is the processing of incoming requests - for authorization or transfer from one account to another. The mechanism for the implementation of this task is the processing center that controls the information and technological interaction when making payments using cards. Many MEAs have their own requirements, for example, Visa systems and Mastercard require third party processor certification, while Diners Club International requires technology licensing.

Transferring money to the account of a trade and service company

When performing financial transactions with cards issued by other credit institutions, the acquirer, with the participation of the Data Processing Center, transfers funds from the issuer's account to a service point (settlement account of a store or other organization - a sports club, restaurant, etc.). For such operations, financial institutions use correspondent accounts specially opened with a settlement banking institution.

If errors were made during the processing of the transaction or the transfer of funds that caused material damage, the acquiring bank compensates for the damage to the point of acceptance of bank cards. To minimize such cases, the preparation of "black lists" is added to its functionality. This stop list includes credit cards in arrears or plastic that should be withdrawn from circulation for various reasons (for example, expiration or blocking of the account).

Although the service for paying for the purchase occurs in a few seconds, the real settlement between banks will be only after a few days, during which these funds will be frozen in the buyer's account. Within 1-3 days, the acquirer will transfer the money to the account of the merchant, withholding his commission, and sending Required documents issuer, will receive a transfer from him.

Processing of documentation for operations with plastic cards

The use of POS-terminals by trade and service enterprises when providing an acquiring service for payment implies the printing of two check cards upon completion of each transaction. Such a check indicates the amount of payment, the date and time of the transaction, and other information. One copy of the check is received by the cardholder, the second remains at the point of acceptance of bank payments - at the end of the day, an electronic register is formed here on the transactions performed and the amounts of payments, which is transferred to the settlement center.

What payment systems does the acquiring bank work with?

The number of payment systems with which the acquiring bank can interact will in any case be small. In addition, if you do not plan to serve VIP clients, then you should not overpay for elite MPS (Diners Club, American Express), significantly saving the company's budget. The most common payment systems in our country are Visa and Mastercard, offering users classic or prestigious (gold and platinum) cards. There are also inter-regional payment systems (for example, "Mir"), which have a limited distribution.

Acquiring types

There are the following types of acquiring:

• Trading is the most common type of this service. POS-terminal for payment today can be found in a restaurant, beauty salon or ticket office. Compared to other types, merchant acquiring has the lowest commission.
• Mobile – payment is accepted using a compact mPOS terminal connected to a tablet computer or smartphone, on which special software is installed. The costs for this service will be higher than when conventional acquiring terminals are used.
• Internet acquiring - this form of service does not require a terminal, accepting payment via the Internet (which means that this service is also available to owners virtual cards). When choosing this service option, keep in mind that this is the highest paying form, so the bank will take from you high interest for the operations carried out.
• ATM-acquiring - provides cash withdrawal services at ATMs or special terminals. The source of income here is the interbank commission (Interchange Fee), which is partially paid by the issuer.

Acquiring scheme

The passage of a payment operation when paying with a bank card can be compared with a chain of interconnected operations, where the correct results of actions (for example, authorization, turnover of funds, charging commissions for services) depend on the precise operation of each individual element of the system. From this point of view, it is necessary to take very seriously the choice of a suitable credit organization providing acquiring services.

Acquiring agreement

The definition of a credit institution for concluding an acquiring agreement involves consideration of several important factors regarding the provision of this service. In accordance with the agreement, the acquiring bank's obligations are:

• provision, installation and configuration of the system for the implementation of operations,
• constant technical support,
• equipment warranty service.

Competitive advantages are low rates, no subscription fees, the ability to rent equipment (rather than buying it), fast installation and launch time. Documentation for signing an agreement with a bank, both for legal entities, and for private entrepreneurs, includes a large list of notarized copies and a questionnaire drawn up in a special form.

Installation and configuration of POS-terminals

Before the acquiring terminal accepts the first card for payment, it is necessary to register a payment acceptance point in the bank system, prepare and configure all devices. On the professional language this is called “system implementation” and includes not only installing or connecting the necessary equipment, but also testing it for payment. For small merchants, the problem of low Internet channel speed during operations may be relevant, which can create serious interference in customer service.

Before starting work, employees are trained in the rules of interaction with the terminal and plastic cards of various types. Further maintenance consists in checking the operability of the equipment, service maintenance and providing statements on completed transactions, which the bank can provide to the client in various ways ( email, conventional, via SMS or by posting information in personal account on the site).

Placement of the web interface on the seller's website

Fundamentally, Internet acquiring differs little from the traditional one - except that instead of a terminal where you need to insert a card for payment, there is a special form in the web interface. Authorization is performed by entering card details: number, expiration date, owner's name, CVV2/CVC2 code. To increase the reliability of transactions, there is a 3-D Secure service - it may have different names (MasterCard Secure Code or Verified by Visa), but the principle of operation is identical - this is a dual authorization system that significantly increases the protection of the client's account.

Settlement by the acquiring bank

In general, the scheme by which bank acquiring works can be represented as follows:

1. The buyer enters the required data into the terminal or web form.
2. The acquirer performs an authorization operation.
3. If there are no restrictions (there are enough funds on the account, the card is not blocked, etc.), payment for the goods occurs, and the processing center informs about this settlement bank.
4. The acquirer transfers the required amount to the seller's accounts.
5. Money through the current account goes to the issuer.

How much do acquiring services cost

Acquiring services are paid for by the merchant, and the commission for them has three components:

1. Interchange Fee is a fee that is transferred to the issuer's account.
2. The commission of the international payment system, which is taken by Visa or Mastercard for the operation.
3. Acquiring bank markup.

For the cardholder

When paying for purchases in stores using POS-terminals, the service of transfer operations will be free for the buyer, although the card may be issued by another banking institution. On the other hand, if you withdraw cash from ATMs of a third-party credit organization, the commission of the acquiring bank can be very noticeable - up to 2-5%, with minimum size 50-300 rubles.

For issuing bank

In the chain of payments for acquiring transactions when buying in a store, the issuer receives a reciprocal fee, since it refers to the account in which the money used for payment is located. However, if cash is withdrawn from ATMs of a third party financial structure, the payment procedure for this service will be reversed (which is why it is also called "reverse charge"), and the acquirer will receive money from the issuer.

Advantages and disadvantages

As an innovative service, acquiring makes customer service more convenient, increases the unconscious costs of non-cash payments and minimizes the cash turnover of the point of sale. The cashier no longer needs to look for change or change large bills to issue change for payment, which means that customer service is faster, and the system for accounting for funds in the account becomes more streamlined.

If we talk about the "minuses" of such a service, then these are the problems of the plastic card sector as a whole, when various schemes of fraudulent transactions help scammers to profit. But every year the acquiring system develops and improves, increasing the security of payments made and nullifying the efforts of unscrupulous people to appropriate money from someone else's account.

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) – credit organisation, which organizes points of acceptance of bank cards (terminals, ATMs) and carries out the entire range of financial transactions related to settlements and payments with bank cards at these points.

The acquiring bank performs the following functions:

Transfers funds to the settlement account of the outlet for goods and services paid for by the card, and is also responsible for reimbursement of funds to outlets in which goods or services were paid using cards;

Accepts, sorts and sends electronic and paper documents confirming transactions with the use of cards;

Distributes stop lists containing a list of cards for which operations are suspended, etc.

When performing transactions with cards issued by other credit institutions, the acquiring bank transfers funds through the payment system from the bank that issued the card to the point of its service. Mutual settlements between the acquirer and the issuer are provided by the settlement bank in which these credit institutions open correspondent accounts.

It should be noted that a financial institution can combine the functions of an acquirer and an issuer.

The acquiring bank can transfer the technical side of card servicing to specialized service organizations - processing centers.

Within the territory of Russian Federation at the beginning of 2012, more than 610 credit institutions carry out.

See what "Acquiring Bank" is in other dictionaries:

acquiring bank- noun, number of synonyms: 1 bank (48) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Acquirer- a bank or a company that carries out the full range of operations for interaction with card service points, which consists of terminals in the trade and service network and ATMs. Upon receipt of data on transactions performed on the network, the acquirer ... ... Financial vocabulary

bank- bank, bankchishko, bank, avalist, piggy bank Dictionary of Russian synonyms. bank n., number of synonyms: 48 avalist (2) ... Synonym dictionary

Acquirer- a bank or a company that carries out the full range of operations for interaction with card service points, which consists of terminals in the trade and service network and ATMs. Upon receipt of data on transactions performed on the network, the acquirer ... ... Wikipedia

AQUIER- A bank or a company that carries out the entire range of operations for interaction with card service points, which consists of terminals in the trade and service network and ATMs. Upon receipt of data on transactions performed on the network, the acquirer ... ... Glossary of business terms

transaction- (Transaction) Bank transaction, Forex transaction Bank card transaction, online transaction and offline transaction, buy/sell transaction financial instruments Contents Contents Section 1. Definition, ... ... Encyclopedia of the investor

Paying for online purchases with a credit card- In the process of paying for goods purchased online with a bank card, the following are involved: the buyer, who is also the holder of the bank card; the seller of a product or service, let's call it an online store for simplicity; the bank that issued the bank card ... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers- Type LLC Year of foundation 2008 Location ... Wikipedia

What is an acquiring bank?

The owners of plastic cards are familiar with such expressions as "issuing bank" and "acquiring bank". Many people think that these are equivalent concepts. In fact, there is a huge difference here. In fact, these are two ends of the same chain. If the issuing bank is the bank that issued and services the card, then the acquiring bank is the bank through which card transactions are carried out. Process cashless payment from the map takes a few seconds.

During this time, a huge number of transactions and signals are carried out between the bank that issued the card and the bank conducting the operation. This whole process is fully automated and is carried out without the participation of the human factor. It does not cause any inconvenience to the client. What is an acquiring bank and how it works, we will consider in this article.

What is acquiring?

This is the process of accepting bank cards for payment through terminals and ATMs at retail outlets. Reception is associated with a whole range of financial transactions, settlements and payments. Acquiring like banking service, enables trade organizations to accept bank plastic cards for payment. From a technical point of view, acquiring carries out automated card settlements through a processing center located in a bank and connected to the networks of Visa, Mastercard, etc.

For the cardholder, the whole essence of acquiring comes down to the fact that you need to insert the card into the terminal (or attach it using Pay Pass or Pay Wave technology), enter a PIN code, pay for the purchase and pick up the goods. In these few seconds, the machines carry out data processing and transmission operations, check whether there is enough money on the card, and receive information from the issuing bank whether the transaction can be carried out or not. All data passes through participants in the banking settlement chain, often geographically located in different cities and countries.

To do this, the trading company concludes an agreement with the bank, under which the bank provides a payment terminal, configures the software and provides all the necessary support. Acquiring is handled by the acquiring bank.

What is an acquiring bank?

This is a credit institution that organizes the acquiring process by supplying retail outlets with special terminals, and conducting a full range of financial transactions. This list includes:

• Carrying out authorization of the card for its validity and performance.
• Handling map requests.
• Guaranteed transfer of money from the acquirer to the settlement account of the trade organization where the transaction was made.
• Processing of electronic documentation that confirms the transaction.
• Distribution of stop lists containing a list of cards for which transactions are suspended (for example, due to card blocking, lack of funds, etc.).
• The acquiring bank trains employees of the trade organization in servicing cardholder customers and provides all kinds of support during work.

The acquiring bank can also be the issuing bank. For example, a client has an Alfa-Bank card, using which he withdraws cash from an Alfa-Bank ATM, or pays for purchases in a store where an Alfa-Bank payment terminal is installed.

It often happens that the acquirer and issuer are different organizations. For example, the client has Tinkoff card, and he withdraws cash from her at Binbank's ATM. In this case, Tinkoff will be the issuer, and Binbank will be the acquirer.

How to become an acquiring bank?

Acquiring services are available in almost all major banks. To do this, you need to have your own processing center for processing information and install payment terminals at retail outlets, ensuring uninterrupted operation. If the bank does not have its own processing center, then it can transfer the technical side to specialized service organizations.

How does an acquiring transaction work?

The whole process consists of the following chain:

• The cardholder presents it to a trade organization to make a purchase.
• Enters a PIN code or swipes the card to the device (if available contactless payment).
• The acquiring bank makes a request for authorization of the required amount to the issuing bank through the payment system.
• The issuing bank checks the card for performance, the size of the balance.
• If the answer is positive, the authorization is confirmed and the payment goes through. The buyer is given a card, a check from the POS-terminal and a purchase.
• If the answer is negative, the operation is rejected with a response, for example, "your card is blocked" or "not enough funds on the account" and so on.

Despite the fact that the purchase will be paid "in the moment", the actual settlement takes place within a few days. Each cardholder can see this process according to the statement. Pending transactions are in the HOLD or "frozen" state. This usually takes 1-3 business days. The acquirer is obliged to transfer the money to the trading organization during this time, and after that, provide clearing documents confirming the payment to the issuing bank and receive from it the money "frozen" in the client's account.

According to statistics, people prefer to pay with a card for purchases. At the same time, they spend 20-30% more than if they paid in cash. Paying with a card allows you to pay off your expenses and frees you from the need to constantly recount money, take change. Trade organizations that have payment terminals look more prestigious and solid in the eyes of customers. For them, acquiring is convenient in terms of the fact that there is no need to collect money. It also eliminates the possibility of counterfeit banknotes, increasing turnover and customer flow.

For the operation, the acquiring bank charges a commission from the trade organization in the prescribed amount - an average of 1-5%. It is important that this commission is paid not by the client, but by the store. Make an additional markup when paying by card trade Organization has no right, since payment systems take the side of the client. They prohibit increasing prices if the client wants to pay by card. The scheme of interaction here is complex, multifactorial and closed to outsiders.

If we are talking about withdrawing cash from an ATM, then the client himself pays the commission. This happens if the issuer and acquirer do not match, and there is no partnership between them. In fact, a person uses the services of an acquiring bank, uses its production facilities, resources, so the issuer withholds a commission in order to pay off the acquirer later.

Acquiring bank - a banking institution that provides services for making payments using a bank card. In simple words, a financial institution that places its terminals for paying with "plastic" in retail outlets, or provides ATMs for cash withdrawal, is called an "acquirer".

When a person pays for a purchase with the help, the name and details of the acquiring bank are recorded on the check.

Functions of the acquiring bank

The main operations performed by the acquiring bank for non-cash payments are:

• card authorization;
• processing of all requests for card transactions;
• provision of services and Internet acquiring;
• transfer of funds to the account of the organization in which the purchase was made;
• implementation of paper and electronic document management, which relates to the conducted non-cash acquiring operation;
• acquiring accounting.

Consider the essence of the acquiring process. There are several parties involved:

• - the financial institution that issues / issues the card.
• An acquiring bank is a financial institution that installs an acquiring terminal at a point of sale.
• The payment system to which the card is attached (VISA, MasterCard).
• Store (shop).

So, you have decided to pay for goods with a card. The cashier of the store inserts "plastic" into the terminal and dials the amount of the purchase. It then prompts you to enter a pin code. After pressing the "enter" key, the server of the acquiring bank addresses the server of the payment system (PS) with a request for authorization of the operation. The PS, in turn, sends a corresponding request to the card issuing bank. If the bank confirms the authorization of the card (only after checking it for validity, blocking, availability of available funds), an appropriate response is sent to the payment system. The cashier at this time sees an inscription on the terminal that card transactions are possible, and the terminal automatically prints a receipt.

In order to choose the right acquiring bank, you need to contact your card issuing bank to find out the list of partner banks that will not charge a commission for acquiring when conducting transactions with your card.

The most important thing to do right choice acquiring bank to the entrepreneur. Financial institutions do not provide such services for free, so when choosing a bank, you need to pay attention to the cost of acquiring rates.

Better to give preference big bank. Reputable financial institutions very often organize promotions for their clients, thanks to which the entrepreneur’s expenses for “maintenance” of the business are reduced.

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Such a bird) In general, see item 30.