Simply put, a BIN (bank identification number) is a special figure used to represent a bank. This figure can be found on any credit/debit card by looking at the first 4-6 digits of…
Bank routing numbers date back more than a century. They were originally created in 1910 by the American Bankers Association to allow banks to more easily identify and process…
A bankcard is a card-based financial tool. It is issued by a bank and designed to provide the cardholder with purchasing ability, cash access, account maintenance and/or other…
A bankcard association is a group of many institutions that offer a bankcard program. Like any business, the bankcard association sponsors the cardholder program, promotes it and…
A banking business day includes all hours in which a member handles normal business functions. This may or may not correspond to the hours that a particular bank or its branch are…
The MasterCard credit and debit card network is one of the largest in the world. With more than 190 million cards in circulation, MasterCard has more than 20 percent of the market…
A bankwire transfer is a way to send funds electronically from one bank to another. Customers are able to send funds through a domestic wire, which is within the US, or an…
Base I is the first of two systems put in place by VisaNet to authorize transactions. It also manages other authorization-related services for credit card processing members. What…
Base II is the second of two systems for authorizing transactions. Base I and Base II work as a team to begin and end the authorization process for each merchant account and its…
Credit card processing requires extensive electronic transfer of data between a merchant, a processor, card networks and several banks. This process would be made all the more…
A Batch Authorization Transaction System, or BATS, is a system designed for a particular type of merchant who needs the flexibility of submitting batches for authorization on an…
The Batch Header Ticket is a special form used for reconciliation of financial transactions. Many banks will use a combination of electronic and paper means for credit card…
Before a business or merchant can be set up to receive payments through debit or credit cards, it must first set up what is called a merchant account. A merchant account is a…
STAR utility bills can be paid through the Internet or a VRU, and the bill payment authentication program authenticates the STAR account holder’s authentication token when this…
Banks and credit unions are the two most common financial institutions that are bill payment providers, otherwise known as BPPs. A BPP is a corporation or association that works,…
A bill payment service provider, otherwise known as BPSP, is a company or organization that is the conduit between a consumer and a biller. The exchange between a consumer and…
A bill service provider, otherwise known as BSP, is a third-party organization used by billers to provide customers with payment options and an electronic billing statement. To…
Billback is a way for credit card processing companies to simplify the billing of interchange fees to merchant accounts. This is done by billing all cards at a single standardized…
A biller is an individual, company or organization that requires payment for a product or service. This bill is typically requested by the merchant account holder after the…
Under a Biller Direct model, billers can electronically bill their customers through their own websites or Web portals. Customers can pay bills electronically directly to the…
A Web browser that customers can use to view websites and consequently to pay bills or make transactions. Common examples of Web browsers include Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft…
Similar to a consumer credit card, a business credit or debit card offers the executives or employees of a business a line of credit. However, the line of credit is usually…
When dealing with many organizations you’ll run into the concept known as a “business day.” This is an important designation to understand. Federal Reserve banks observe all…