Frequently Asked QuestionsHow does payment processing work?

Merchants send batches of authorized transactions to their payment processor. The payment processor passes transaction details to the card associations that communicate the appropriate debits with the issuing banks in their network. The issuing bank charges the cardholder's account for the amount of the transactions.

FAQ Topics

Other Topics in
Processing Transactions

• What is a Card Not Present (CNP) Transaction?
• What is a “MID”?
• How does payment processing work?
• What is a credit card payment or sale?
• What happens during a typical Internet credit card transaction?
• What is the difference between a payment processor and a gateway?
• Why do I need a gateway?
• Which payment gateways can Ascent work with?
• Are you integrated with my software?
• How long do payments take to process?
• What is a pre-authorization?
• Can I void a pre-authorization?
• What is the difference between voiding a sale and issuing a credit?
• What is the Address Verification Service (AVS)? Why does it matter?
• What is Card Security Code (CSC) or Card Verification Code (CVV)?
• How long does a refund take to process?
• What rate do I pay on refunds?
• Are physical signatures needed?
• What is EMV?
• What is an acquiring bank?

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