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Credit card processing
It comes as a surprise how credit cards have found their way into our lives (and
out wallet). Credit cards have gradually turned into becoming a necessity
(rather than luxury). You can find credit card processing machines in almost all
the shops today. With the advent of internet, online credit card processing has
become popular too. ‘Credit card processing’ as such is a really interesting
topic. This article tries to put into perspective the people, systems and the
equipment that go into credit card processing.
First, let’s check the equipments used for credit card processing. So, there are
credit card processing softwares for online credit card processing, there are
credit card processing machines (i.e. the credit card reading machines at
shops), there are data verification/validation devices/softwares that verify the
security information on credit cards, there are communication devices/systems
that enable safe transfer of credit card information from one point to another,
and then there are other credit card processing equipments like the credit card
processing equipment that is used for the preparation of the actual plastic
(credit card).
Then there are various service providers that provide services related to credit
card processing. There are suppliers for credit card processing equipment and
suppliers for online credit card processing services. Then there are postal and
courier service that help deliver credit card bills in time. There are
merchants/petrol-bunks etc which provide facility of payment collection boxes at
their premises (another important aspect of credit card processing).
Besides that there are complete systems for processing credit card applications,
there are systems for credit card bill processing/generation, there are people
at call centres who help in addressing the queries from credit card holders and,
very importantly, there are people (sales representatives) who help you in
filling the credit card application forms. Another important entity with regards
to ‘credit card processing’ process is the credit rating bureaus. Credit card
bureaus maintain a database of credit ratings for individuals and businesses.
This rating is based on the data received from various credit providers over a
period of time. This rating is the most important part of credit card
application processing and a bad rating can lead to rejection of the credit card
application altogether.
Thus, credit card processing involves a coordinated effort from a lot of
professionals and service providers. In that sense, we can also say that credit
card processing is an industry in itself that has generated a lot of employment.
