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Payment Facilitator vs Payment Gateway: Key Differences and Similarities

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Consider the following: Merchants are the sellers, businesses, or service providers seeking payment for their offerings. The acquiring bank (or issuing bank or acquirer) is the financial institution that enables merchants to accept payments, transferring funds from customers to the merchant’s account.

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Understanding Risk Management Strategies as a PayFac

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They would then request a chargeback from their bank instead of requesting a refund from the seller—which essentially constitutes friendly fraud. Reputational risks Risks associated with things like data breaches, poor customer service, company controversies, etc. Most PayFacs have technology in place to prevent these breaches.

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What Is a Credit Card Surcharge?

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Surcharge vs Interchange Fee The interchange fee is the amount a merchant pays to the card-issuing bank whenever a customer makes a purchase using a credit or debit card. This is to cover the risk of fraud, bad debts, handling costs of the money, and the merchant’s bank account.

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What Is a Credit Card Surcharge?

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Surcharge vs Interchange Fee The interchange fee is the amount a merchant pays to the card-issuing bank whenever a customer makes a purchase using a credit or debit card. This is to cover the risk of fraud, bad debts, handling costs of the money, and the merchant’s bank account.

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What Is an ACH Payment Facilitator?

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Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are a type of electronic bank-to-bank payment system in the US. An ACH payment facilitator, therefore, is simply a PayFac that allows users to accept payments through an electronic bank-to-bank network. This is pretty much similar to the service that PayPal offers.

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What are Merchant Accounts and How Do They Work?

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A merchant account acts as a pathway between your business, your customers, and the issuer and acquiring banks to process electronic transactions like credit cards. A merchant account refers to a business bank account that allows businesses to accept electronic payments for goods and services.

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How Much Do Credit Card Companies Charge Merchants?

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As well as improving profit margins, these activities can also enhance the customer experience and give merchants a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The merchant service providers that a business is using to handle credit card payments play a key role in determining the size and structure of credit card fees.