- BIN: The term bank identification number (BIN) refers to the first four to six numbers on a payment card. This set of numbers identifies the financial institution that issues the card. It works to protect both merchants and consumers in the online marketplace.

 

- Principal member: A Principal Member is a licensed financial institution that directly participates as an issuing and/or acquiring member of Visa or MasterCard. It has the right to issue cards itself and sponsor other institutions (fintechs) to issue on its behalf (BIN sponsorship). Affiliate/Associate members can not offer BIN sponsorship and rely on a Principal for their Card Network activities.

 

- Debit card: A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. When you use a debit card, the funds for the amount of your purchase are taken from your checking account almost instantly.

 

- Credit card: When you use a credit card, the amount will be charged to your line of credit, meaning you will pay the bill at a later date, which also gives you more time to pay.

 

- Charge card: A charge card is a card that requires payment in full every month. It doesn't have a preset spending limit like credit cards do.

 

- Prepaid card: Prepaid cards can be used to make purchases, similar to a debit or credit card. But unlike a bank card, your prepaid card comes with a balance that acts as your spending limit. Once you’ve spent the balance, the card becomes unusable until you add more money to it.

 

- Ledger: The ledger records a series of debits and credits (i.e. withdrawals and deposits) to arrive at a customer's account balance. This balance, showing the total funds in a bank account, is used to make auth decisions (approve/decline) on transactions.

 

- Core: The core banking system is the back-end software used to support a bank's most common transactions (e.g. account management, processing deposits & withdrawals, recordkeeping & reporting and posting to the ledger).

 

- ACH: The ACH Network, managed by National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) in the US, is an electronic funds-transfer system that facilitates bank transfers. ACH transfers allow you to push (ACH credit) or pull (ACH debit) funds to/from a bank account. FedACH, through the Federal Reserve, is the typical mechanism to process an ACH in the US.

 

- Wire: A wire transfer is an electronic transfer of funds across a network of banks. During business hours, the funds transfer and settle instantly. Wire transfers are one-way and cannot be returned. Fedwire, through the Federal Reserve, is the typical mechanism to process a wire transfer in the US.

- Partner bank: Also referred to as the sponsor bank, BIN sponsor, or issuing bank, this party holds the principal issuing licenses with the card network(s) that allows them to issue cards.

 

- Card network (e.g. Visa or Mastercard): The role of a card network is to facilitate transactions between merchants and card issuers. To do this, card networks create virtual payment infrastructures and charge merchants interchange fees for processing consumers’ credit or debit card transactions.

 

- Issuer processor (e.g. Marqeta，Comdata): An issuer processor connects an issuer – which is usually a bank, fintech or payment firm – directly with the networks to provide the systems of record, manage the issuance of cards, authorise transactions, and communicate with settlement entities.

 

- Card manufacturer: If you are going to issue physical cards, you will need a card manufacturer. They will help to provide the embedding and programming EMV chips in the card.

 

- Digital wallet providers (e.g. Apple, Samsung, Google): A digital wallet (or electronic wallet) is a financial transaction application that runs on any connected device. It allows you to pay when you're shopping using your device so that you don't need to carry your cards around. Google Pay and Apple Pay are examples of more well-known digital wallets.

 

- Card program manager (e.g. you or iPeakoin): A Program Manager is a non-bank entity that contracts with an Issuer to establish, market, and operate prepaid card programs. Typically, Program Managers are responsible for establishing relationships with Processors and Distributors.

 

- Third-Party Vendors: There are number of third party relationships (e.g. manufacturers, fraud vendors, risk/compliance vendors, etc) that are engaged to deliver a successful program but we've left them out for simplicity. Please engage with us to learn more!

 

- Acquiring: There are also similar roles (e.g. gateway, processor, bank, etc.) on the acquiring side of the equation.

1. Card Interchange: Interchange fees are transaction fees that the merchant's bank account must pay whenever a customer uses a credit/debit card to make a purchase from their store. The fees are paid to the card-issuing bank to cover handling costs, fraud and bad debt costs and the risk involved in approving the payment.

 

2. Core Banking Services: Core banking can be defined as a back-end system that processes banking transactions across the various branches of a bank. The system essentially includes deposit, loan and credit processing. For card programs, Program Managers facilitate the opening of accounts at iPeakoin associated with each user. On the debit side, most partners choose to open individual bank accounts for their users which improves reconciliation and provides low-cost, highly scalable ACH and wire capabilities. These programmatic features facilitate account funding and streamline payments.

 

3. Credit Origination: Credit Origination is the process by which a lender or other credit granting institution approves for a new credit product or exposures (such as a new loan, mortgage, credit card etc) and performs initial processing.

> Flexibility — evaluates risk and collaborates to adjust programs

> Responsiveness — pushes third-party vendors and reviews content quickly

> Scalability — lending and deposit capacity and program support

> Economical — attractive rates for BIN sponsorship, core banking and credit origination

> Speed — shortens time to launch and meets iteration needs

 

- Who is your target user?

 

- How will cards be used?