Chris Motola

The credit card industry has many players, from credit card issuers, to credit card networks, to merchant acquirers. Each handles a different part of a credit card transaction, allowing customers to draw on a revolving line of credit at checkout.

According to the Nilson report, there were $932.85 billion in outstanding balances on credit cards in 2021. American Express saw the highest outstanding balances per card at $2,153, but had the lowest percentage of delinquencies among accounts that were carrying a balance.

Credit card issuers extend customers a revolving line of credit with which to make purchases. This amount can be drawn upon, paid off, and then used again so long as the account remains open and the credit limit isn’t exceeded.

A merchant acquirer is a financial entity, frequently a bank, that provides the settlement infrastructure for credit and debit card transactions. They also represent the backend of popular payment processing platforms like PayPal, Square, and Stripe, which in turn provide middleman services between the business and the merchant acquirer.

No matter how good you are at planning, it’s impossible to prepare for every possible emergency that may affect your business. Where do you look for an emergency business loan? Read on, and we’ll try to help you out. Here are seven ways to get business funding fast.

If you run ACH payments through your bank, you may pay lower fees. In fact, many of the best business banks offer no-fee ACH transfers. However, if you’re looking to integrate ACH payments into your sales processes or want to use their subscription billing tools, the convenience offered by a payment processor may be worth the additional cost.

Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments power most of the bank-to-bank transfers in the United States. ACH is so common that many of us take it for granted, not realizing that the system is used to finalize credit card payments, for direct deposits of paychecks, and in check cashing.

While businesses tend to interact directly with their payment processor, the processor is just one link in the credit card transaction process. The financial institutions that issue the cards provide the credit, while the credit card networks provide the infrastructure.

ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments are one of the oldest ways to move cash between accounts. While most payment methods, including credit cards, are ultimately settled with ACH transfers, it’s much less common for small businesses to make more direct use of them.
While there are many advantages to using ACH, this payment method won’t be a good fit for every small business or for every transaction. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of ACH payments.

Every small business has different needs when it comes to capital, so the best unsecured line of credit for one company may differ from that of another. While you always want to minimize the cost of borrowing in terms of interest rates and fees, you’ll also want to keep in mind whether your needs or long- or short-term, and how quickly you need access to your money.