Payment Processing
Payment Processing is a key component of most service-based billing processes. Many companies in B2C and B2SMB industries store a credit or debit card on file which are used to process recurring payments on a periodic basis. The stored cards must be stored in a PCI compliant manner. It is also common for credit cards to be declined for a variety of reasons. Declined and expired cards should be monitored carefully and proactively.

Payment Processing Components

Authorize
The authorization step in credit card processing typically occurs when the initial payment agreement is created with a new customer. Authorization can also occur if a customer changes from another payment type to a credit card, or when a customer changes the credit card used for billing. In the Authorize step, the credit card number and information provided by the customer is confirmed, typically by the vendor chosen to process credit card payments.
The authorization of a credit card transaction generally reserves the funds with a bank or credit card company. The transaction is then pending, and the credit company holds those funds for a prescribed length of time (usually 48-72 hours) before releasing the funds back to the customer’s account. When the enterprise client provisions, ships, or delivers a product or service, the authorization is re-run through the payment processor and converted to a transaction.
Payment Gateway
The payment gateway accommodates the processing of charges made to customers’ credit cards. The payment gateway is normally where credit card information is stored and processed. The payment gateway can be responsible for the majority of required PCI compliance.
Payment Processing
Payment processing is a process that enables financial transactions, commonly employed by an enterprise, to handle transactions with customers from various channels such as credit cards and debit cards or bank accounts.
In an operation that will usually take a few seconds, payment processing will both check the details received by forwarding them to the respective card's issuing bank or card association for verification, and also carry out a series of anti-fraud measures against the transaction.
Additional parameters, including the card's country of issue and its previous payment history, are also used to gauge the probability of the transaction being approved.
Once the payment processor has received confirmation that the credit card details have been verified, the information is relayed back via the payment gateway to the enterprise, who will then complete the payment transaction. If verification is denied by the card association, the payment processor will relay the information to the merchant, who will then decline the transaction.
Optimize Interchange
The rates charged for processing credit card transactions can vary based on the quality and completeness of the data provided for processing as well as the timeliness with which the transaction is submitted for processing. Optimizing interchange remedies issues of speed, reliability, and data integrity as approvals, authorizations, and credits are processed.
Optimize Credit Card Success
Optimizing credit card success through process and technology improvements allow a company to meet the following goals:
Reduce credit card processing costs
Reduce the risk of fraud
Increase security of customer PCI data
Update credit card information automatically
Additional optimizations can be made to reduce the accessibility of credit card data stored within various systems. One step is to tokenize credit card numbers. Tokenization requires the processor to hold a key that associates the token with valid payment information. This process decreases the risk of theft and exposure of payment information. The tokenization process must be supported by internal systems as well as the payment processor. When a credit card is submitted to the payment processor, the token is associated with the account information stored by the credit card company, instead of the credit card. The token is stored internally for ongoing or future payments.
Account Updater is a feature supported by some systems, and most credit card processors, that allows credit card numbers and expiration dates to be updated automatically when a customer is issued a new card. This feature can be extremely useful in maintaining a low level of credit card failures. In addition, the impact to customers is decreased while increasing the overall customer experience. Service can continue uninterrupted, and the need for customers to call with updated credit card information is eliminated. What’s more, account updater has the ability to support credit cards that are re-issued as a lost or stolen card.
Process Chargebacks
Customers occasionally dispute a charge, requiring their bank or credit card company to process chargebacks. This action will result in the removal of funds from a company’s account and then returned to the customer. Companies have an opportunity to dispute the chargeback. Fighting a chargeback can be a tedious effort. Providing proof of service/product delivery as well as confirmation that terms and conditions were met can be more trouble than it’s worth for large organizations.
People, Process, and Technology of CRM: SFA
People
The Finance - Billing team leads the Payment Processing domain. Operations, Legal, and IT are also closely connected with this very focused domain.
FINANCE - BILLING
Operations
LEGAL
I.T.
Process
ATG maintains a set of over 100 key business processes to support the management of customers and revenue for enterprise clients. Twenty-six of these processes originate or are impacted by the Payment Processing domain. Below is a list of those processes, grouped by the org primarily responsible for the stated process:
Balance Management - Prepaid, Deposit, Rollover
Business rules and processes surrounding the management of prepaid balances, deposits, and rollovers.
Bill Day Usage Processing
The process of invoicing usage that has been accumulating since the previous statement/invoice period. Bill day usage processing includes calculation of charges, potential overage, decrementing credit balances, and managing rollover and pooled usage constructs.
Bill Run Operations
Tasks and functions associated with initiating and maintaining the billing process, including bill cycle management, usage file management, payment batches, credit card rejects, etc.
Billing Setup Process
Tasks and functions associated with setting up the billing processes for given products and services.
Credit Card Optimization
The overall optimization of credit card processing, including the establishment of Payment Gateway profile, keeping CC current, managing rejects, chargebacks, etc. Optimizing revenue, and reducing risk and fraud is paramount here.
Credit Card Processing
Methods to receive credit card payments including authorization, payment gateway, processing, interchange, and credit card success/failures.
Dispute / Adjustment Processing
Settling disputes/adjustments regarding customer payments or account. Key process for clients that are operating in a Balance Management or 'On Account' environment.
Invoice Finishing & Delivery
Typically, billing engines produce raw invoice or statement data. Often, external applications are used to package this data for presentation on a paper invoice, electronic distribution, or alternate media. Most billing engines have rudimentary invoice presentation capability.
Payment Processing
The steps taken to process different payment methods from customers.
SOX/Regulatory Compliance
The ability to provide proof of internal controls to prevent fraud and material misstatements.
Subscription Management
The processes a company uses to manage complex customer subscription attributes, including recurring billing, IN Proration (service sign up), OUT Proration (service disconnect/cancel), and associated usage, recurring, and non-recurring processing.
System Auditability
Provides assurance that source system data is accurate, and a paper trail exists from a transaction to financial statements.
Proactive Customer Notification - Operations Focus (CC Expiry, Payment Received Notification)
A proactive approach to notify customers of pertinent payment information, particularly keeping Credit Cards current to limit number and impact of reject processing.
PCI Compliance
Ability for customer to satisfy contractually obligated PCI requirements.
Cross-Training of Monetization Ecosystem Components
Process for training organizational resources
Data Stewardship Across Monetization Ecosystem
Process of assigning ownership and sources of truth for data within the organization.
Maintenance & Oversight of Monetization Ecosystem
Process around assuring that all touchpoints and connections in the ecosystem are optimized and working to their full potential.
Monitoring & Testing of Vendor Functional Releases
As ecosystem components release updates and patches, each is checked and tested to confirm all systems are working together as required by the business' requirements.
Vendor Management of the Monetization Ecosystem
Management of ecosystem component vendors including proactive communication of changes and general relationship nurturing.
Security Oversight of Monetization Ecosystem
Process for maintaining and controlling access and permission to ecosystem components.
Daily, Periodic, or Ad Hoc Reporting (ETL, Report, Dashboard)
Movement of data between domains to create a single source of truth for reporting and dashboarding. Includes key metrics such as revenue analytics and other KPIs
Technology:
Payment Processing software is provided by a handful of companies that ensure a secure, encrypted connection to their system, and typically have tiered fraud filtering systems as an upgrade path.
Key Payment Processing Vendors

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 2006
HQ: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Company Type: Public
Website: www.adyen.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
Adyen is designed for “any business and every customer journey”. Adyen allows businesses to stretch into new markets and increase their revenue through increased conversions, local acquiring, and new payment methods. Adyen offers POS payment systems as well as online and in-app payments so a business can drive revenue 24/7. Adyen utilizes varying payment methods, local connections to lower fees, transaction optimization via machine learning, and security to mitigate risks.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Insights, Reporting, and Dashboards
TARGET MARKET
Adyen targets companies of varying sizes. Currently, Adyen services 8 of the 10 largest U.S. Internet Companies.
CUSTOMERS
- Lush
- Uber
- Netflix
- Spotify

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 1996
HQ: American Fork, UT
Company Type: Public
Website: www.authorize.net
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
Authorize.Net, a Visa Solution, is designed to simplify the payment processing process. Authorize.Net offers 7 payment processing features: Advanced Fraud Protection, Customer Information Management, Payment Types, Recurring Payments, Account Updater, Digital Invoicing, and Simple Checkout. These features simplify the payment process for eCommerce, Point of Sale, mobile payments, phone payments, billing, eCheck, and mobile card readers so a business can “sell more, sell faster, and sell safely”.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Advanced Fraud Protection
- Customer Information Management
- Payment Types
- Account Updater
- Digital Invoicing
- Simple Checkout
TARGET MARKET
Authorize.Net targets companies of varying sizes.
CUSTOMERS
- OptimizePress
- LensDirect.com
- JotForm
- HyCloud Computing

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 2007
HQ: Chicago, IL
Company Type: Privately Held
Website: www.braintree.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
Braintree, a PayPal Service, aims to helps businesses increase their revenue through their payment processing services. Braintree payment processing solutions will streamline operations, utilize the power of the PayPal platform, increase sales and revenue, and keep at risk data secure.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Data Security
- Recurring Billing
- Integrations
TARGET MARKET
When Braintree first became relevant, they targeted companies who fit a certain revenue quotas and profiles. Now Braintree targets organizations of any size.
CUSTOMERS
- StubHub
- Dropbox
- GitHub
- Yelp

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 1979
HQ: New York, NY
Company Type: Public
Website: www.chasepaymentech.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
Chase Paymentech is a web-based merchant service allowing retailers to accept payments in store, online, or on the go. Paymentech also provides web-based access to transaction data, advanced web-based reporting, an online chargeback interface, and optional fraud management tools.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
This offering allows the user to:
- Reconcile payment operations using daily, weekly, or monthly financial reports
- Manage chargeback online with 24/7 access to comprehensive transaction data
- Reduce errors resulting in chargebacks
- Control employee access to customer and business-related information
- Create customized fraud filters to manage risk
Paymentech screens for high-risk transactions, electronically captures, stores, and exchanges chargeback documents, and provides direct contact numbers for card issuing banks.
TARGET MARKET
Chase Paymentech tends to target companies of all sizes, including enterprises, which are in need of data management tools.
CUSTOMERS
- Valley Ranch Pet Clinic
- David Mayhew Photography
- Skin Sanctuary
- Irina's Alteractions

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 1994
HQ: Foster City, CA
Company Type: Privately Held
Website: www.cybersource.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
CyberSource is a Visa, Inc. company providing an e-commerce credit card payment gateway. This company works with over 400,000 medium-to-large sized merchants worldwide to process online payments while utilizing fraud and security management.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
Featured solutions include:
- Global Expansion
- Mobile and Cross-Channel Payments
- Streamlining PCI Management
- Optimizing Fraud Management
CyberSource also provides implementation and maintenance support, as well as merchant and partner payment management solutions.
TARGET MARKET
CyberSource tends to target enterprise companies such as manufacturers, service businesses, and education and e-government entities, as well as medium-sized businesses.
CUSTOMERS
- Traveloka
- LINE Thailand
- China Eastern
- Qunar
- Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB)

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 2011
HQ: London, UK
Company Type: Private
Website: www.gocardless.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
GoCardless is designed for enterprise and small businesses to collect recurring payments, monitor fraud risks, collect one-time payments, streamline invoices, and offer subscription collections. GoCardless has the options to integrate with powerful software such as Salesforce, Zuora, Chargebee, Recurly and more. GoCardless also offers the ability to collect payments from anywhere in the world with international collections.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Fraud Monitoring
- API integrations
- Payment Monitoring
TARGET MARKET
GoCardless is targeted toward large enterprises and small businesses with options to cater to both needs.
CUSTOMERS
- DocuSign
- Deputy
- Epson
- Propel by Deloitte

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 2010
HQ: Oakland, CA
Company Type: Public
Website: www.marqeta.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
Marqeta is a modern card issuing and processing company that utilizes an open API platform. Marqeta allows companies to create and issue virtual or physical payment cards with customizable options such as spend controls. The benefits to the custom cards are numerous but not limited to fraud control, fast reconciliation, instant payments, custom card experiences, and zero balance cards that free up capital.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Card Issuing
- Expense Management
- Digital Banking
- Fraud Detection
TARGET MARKET
Marqeta is targeted toward large global enterprises or up and coming startups.
CUSTOMERS
- Affirm
- DoorDash
- Uber
- Instacart

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 1998
HQ: Palo Alto, CA
Company Type: Public
Website: www.paypal.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
PayPal is a payment processing software that utilizes various payment methods such as: Buy-now-pay-later, check out with cryptocurrency, touch-free payments, and exploring ways to split bills, send money, and connect with people.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Check out with Cryptocurrency
- Money Management
- Streamline operations
- Cash Back
- Risk Management
TARGET MARKET
PayPal is targeted toward enterprises of any size and personal use.
CUSTOMERS
- GrubHub
- Pottery Barn
- Hulu
- Spotify
- Ulta

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 2009
HQ: Palo Alto, CA
Company Type: Privately Held
Website: www.stripe.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
Stripe is geared toward online payment processing for e-business. Stripe utilizes a slew of features built on an easy-to-use platform with prebuilt integrations. The company offers fraud protection, invoicing, issuance of physical and virtual cards, financing options, and business spend management. The Stripe product is the backbone for online and in person shop operations, subscription-based businesses, and software platforms.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Card Issuing
- Expense Management
- Invoicing
- Fraud Detection
TARGET MARKET
Stripe is targeted to companies of all sizes which ranges from start- ups and Fortune 500 companies.
CUSTOMERS
- Amazon
- Slack
- Zoom
- Lyft
- Shopify

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 1958
HQ: San Francisco, CA
Company Type: Public
Website: www.visa.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
VISA is a multinational financial services company with dominance in payment processing. VISA is a global leader in connecting global economies and leads strongly in digital payments. VISA offers businesses the ability to offer many forms of payments such as Click to Pay, Tap to Phone, Contactless Payments, and Installments.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Card Issuing
- Consulting
- Analytics
- Invoicing
- Fraud Detection
- Expense Management
TARGET MARKET
VISA is targeted toward individuals and companies of all sizes.
CUSTOMERS
- Athleta
- Banana Republic
- Starbucks
- Fandango

ESSENTIALS
Founded: 1971
HQ: Cincinnati, Ohio
Company Type: Public
Website: www.worldpay.com
Delivery Method: Cloud
OVERVIEW
Worldpay is a payment processing company with a global reach. Worldpay has a mission to help grow businesses and streamline the payment experience through accepting more payments, securely, on a global scale. The company offers B2C, B2B, Omnichannel, and Enterprise options to accept a wide variety of payments, at any time, with many integration options.
PRODUCT & SERVICES:
- Payment Processing
- Fraud Detection
- Expense Management
- Business Insights
TARGET MARKET
Worldpay is targeted toward Enterprises, small, and medium-sized businesses.
CUSTOMERS
- Jamba Juice
- Clarks
- China Southern Airlines
- Experian