Overview

Issue & process card payments

Issuing is the process of creating, distributing, and managing virtual and physical cards.

Our card issuing APIs allow you to create your business solution with physical and virtual prepaid cards. Physical cards can feature custom designs to match your brand style and they ship in a few days. Virtual cards are assigned to a user’s digital wallet account and can be used immediately.

Launch your card program, creating cards for different scenarios like employee expense cards or payments on global sites. Configure card preferences and limits to control transactions, spending, payments, approvals, allowed business types, and flow of funds. Track your program, with detailed reports of card usage and activity.

Inswitch is PCI compliant which means we follow industry standards on card data security. However, our issuing solution allows our customers to use most of our APIs without the need to be certified themselves.

Main Features

Issue Virtual and Physical Cards
Setup spending controls and restrictions
Use external Authoriozation to have full control of program usage

Definitions

Concept	Definition
PCI	Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a payment security standard that sets the technical and operational requirements for organizations accepting or processing payment transactions, and for software developers and manufacturers of applications and devices used in those transactions. All entities that store, process, or transmit cardholder data must maintain payment security.
BIN	Bank Identification Number The first four to six digits of a card representing the identification number of the issuer or acquirer.
BIN Sponsor	A BIN sponsor takes responsibility for - risk management and ecosystem due diligence - compliance with local regulations and network rules, - including AML and KYC frameworks - settlement and reconciliation for program stakeholders - providing access to the VISA and Mastercard networks
Issuer	It is the institution that backs the card financially. It can issue cards on a given network. It holds prepaid funds. It manages a consumer’s card account and pays out to the merchant's account after a purchase. The issuer: - approves or denies credit card applications - sets the credit limits, APRs, terms, and most of the benefits on the account - pays for transactions on behalf of the cardholder - collects payments from the cardholder - provides customer service
Payment Processing Network	Visa, Mastercard They process transactions between merchants and issuers. The network supplies a recognizable brand, ensures that transactions are processed correctly, sets guidelines and qualification requirements for member institutions, and mediates disputes between parties. They also set the interchange fees charged during payment processing. Also known as Associations.
Acquirer	It provides merchant accounts that allow a legal entity to accept card payments and works in conjunction with the acquirer processor In some cases, the acquirer and acquirer processor are a single entity. The acquire routes payment card information to the correct parties and ensures funds are deposited into merchants’ accounts once transactions are complete.
Payment Facilitator	It sets up and manages multiple relationships and systems so merchants don’t need to establish and maintain them with each individual party. PayFacs streamline the merchant onboarding process. They allow merchants to accept payments using their infrastructure. They enable businesses to begin accepting card payments more quickly. A payment facilitator needs a merchant account to hold its deposits. It obtains this through an acquirer. It authorizes transactions and routes them to the appropriate card networks. It also handles settling funds from the issuer to the acquirer. A payment facilitator must integrate with a payment processor to get transactions where they need to go.
Merchant	Any business that accepts card-based payments