Which role processes a merchant's payment card transactions and forwards authorization requests to the Issuer?

Which role processes a merchant's payment card transactions and forwards authorization requests to the Issuer?

• A. Card Brand
• B. Acquirer
• C. Issuer
• D. Service Provider

Answer: (B)

The key idea is identifying who represents the merchant in card payments and handles the transmission of the transaction for authorization. The acquirer is the merchant’s bank or payment processor. When a card transaction is initiated, the merchant sends the details to the acquirer, who then forwards the authorization request through the card network to the issuer. The issuer decides whether to approve or decline based on funds and risk, returning the response via the network to the acquirer, which then relays it to the merchant. The card brand (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) provides the network for these messages but doesn’t make the authorization decision or forward requests to the issuer itself. The issuer is the bank that issues the card and makes the approval/decline decision. A service provider may offer processing services but the described role—processing the merchant’s transactions and forwarding authorizations—is the acquirer’s.

The key idea is identifying who represents the merchant in card payments and handles the transmission of the transaction for authorization. The acquirer is the merchant’s bank or payment processor. When a card transaction is initiated, the merchant sends the details to the acquirer, who then forwards the authorization request through the card network to the issuer. The issuer decides whether to approve or decline based on funds and risk, returning the response via the network to the acquirer, which then relays it to the merchant. The card brand (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) provides the network for these messages but doesn’t make the authorization decision or forward requests to the issuer itself. The issuer is the bank that issues the card and makes the approval/decline decision. A service provider may offer processing services but the described role—processing the merchant’s transactions and forwarding authorizations—is the acquirer’s.