Frequently Asked Questions

Merchant services are the systems, providers and financial relationships that enable a business to accept and settle customer payments.

A merchant account is a merchant-side arrangement used to receive card transaction proceeds. Some modern PSPs abstract the traditional account structure.

A payment gateway securely transmits payment information between a checkout and payment infrastructure.

A processor handles transaction messaging and processing services between participants in the payment ecosystem.

An acquirer provides the merchant-side acquiring relationship and associated settlement services for card payments.

A card network provides rules and infrastructure for card transactions between issuers and acquirers.

Interchange is a fee generally transferred between an acquirer and card issuer as part of card-payment economics.

Network or assessment fees are charges associated with card-network services and rules; exact treatment varies by network and provider.

Fixed fees can cover transaction handling or platform economics and may matter more for low-value transactions.

Effective processing rate is total payment-related cost divided by processed payment volume for a defined period.

Cross-border transactions can involve different acquiring routes, network economics, currencies and additional provider charges.

FX is foreign-exchange conversion between currencies; merchants should review the conversion rate, spread and timing.

Settlement is the movement of funds to the merchant or relevant account after payment processing.

Settlement timing varies by provider, payment method, risk controls, weekends, holidays and market.

A PSP combines some or all payment acceptance services into a platform, often reducing the need for separate integrations.

Wallet acceptance can improve checkout convenience where the customer base uses those wallets; relevance depends on market and device mix.

ACH is a US electronic bank-payment network used for transfers including certain business-to-consumer and business-to-business payment flows.

Bacs and Faster Payments are UK payment systems with different use cases, processing models and timing.

SEPA is the Single Euro Payments Area framework and associated schemes supporting euro payments across participating countries.

Direct Debit allows a merchant to collect funds from a customer under a mandate, subject to scheme and country rules.

A chargeback is a card dispute mechanism that can reverse a transaction through issuer, network and acquirer processes.

A refund is initiated by the merchant; a chargeback is a dispute process initiated through the cardholder and issuer pathway.

Card-not-present fraud occurs when payment credentials are used without the physical card being presented, often in ecommerce.

3-D Secure is a cardholder-authentication framework used to add an authentication step or risk signal to eligible card-not-present transactions.

Tokenisation replaces sensitive payment credentials with a token that can be used within a controlled payment environment.

PCI DSS is a security standard covering organisations that store, process or transmit payment-card data.

Strong Customer Authentication is an authentication requirement in relevant European payment contexts, subject to scope and exemptions.

A payment decline means the attempted transaction was not authorised or otherwise could not complete.

Use accurate payment data, clear decline handling, retries where appropriate, good authentication design and multiple relevant payment methods.

Ask about total cost, supported markets, settlement, reserves, disputes, fraud tools, integrations, support, contract terms and exit provisions.

Multiple providers can support resilience, regional coverage or specialised payment methods, but they add integration and operational complexity.

International merchants should review local payment preferences, currencies, acquiring, settlement, compliance, refunds, disputes and FX.

Review total payment costs by method and market and calculate an effective rate rather than relying only on headline pricing.

No. The site provides general educational information and is not a substitute for professional legal, tax, accounting or financial advice.