The modern card payment ecosystem has two sides.
Many businesses that issue cards today also need to accept payments online, in store and at point-of-sale terminals around the world, and to offer other financial products and services to their customers, including SMEs.
In the past, these functions were provided by different parties, each requiring separate relationships, processes and systems.
As companies expand geographically and incorporate more fintech offerings into their product portfolios, the benefits of linking different payment capabilities together through a single payment infrastructure increase.
This is one of the areas in which Cardaq has developed its proposition.
Beyond the Traditional Merchant Account
A merchant accepting card payments typically needs acquiring infrastructure.
Companies that issue cards to their customers also need issuing infrastructure.
A fintech offering financial products may need all of this, together with payment accounts, money movement and foreign exchange services, each requiring supporting technology.
Managing these services separately adds technical and operational complexity.
Cardaq can help by delivering several financial services functions within a single environment.
Card Acquiring
Acquiring is at the centre of card acceptance.
It connects merchants with the card payment ecosystem and enables card transactions to be processed and funds to be settled to merchants.
For merchants operating internationally, acquiring involves much more: handling different markets, currencies, payment methods, settlement arrangements and reporting requirements.
Cardaq provides acquiring services as part of its wider infrastructure offering for merchant payments.
This enables merchants to accept card payments as their business grows.
Card Issuing
The other side of the card ecosystem is issuing.
Card issuing programmes enable businesses to create and operate card programmes for their customers, employees, partners or users.
For fintechs and other financial services companies, card issuing can form part of the product they offer to their customers.
Card issuing also forms part of Cardaq’s infrastructure offering for businesses developing their own payment products for customers and users.
This infrastructure can be used by businesses that issue cards and also need payment acceptance for their merchants.
Principal Membership of Major Card Schemes
Cardaq is a Principal Member of Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay International.
These memberships support Cardaq’s issuing and acquiring activities and its goal of enabling businesses to transact within the global card economy.
By accessing the established card infrastructure of major card schemes, businesses building payment products can avoid building large parts of the payment stack themselves.
Connecting Issuing and Acquiring
Issuing and acquiring are often treated as separate areas of the payments industry, even though they are closely interrelated.
From a broader infrastructure perspective, they form part of the same financial environment.
A fintech might issue cards to its customers but also accept payments on behalf of others.
A marketplace also requires payment acceptance alongside other financial services for its customers and merchants.
A financial services company can offer cards, accounts and money movement as a single customer experience.
By connecting all services through a single interface, businesses can develop a more comprehensive offering for their customers.
Global Payment Infrastructure
Businesses operating internationally need to move money across markets, currencies and payment rails.
Cardaq provides access to UK payment rails, including Faster Payments and CHAPS, and international payments via SWIFT, together with foreign exchange services.
Businesses can connect card issuing and acquiring with money movement in one place, rather than using separate providers.
The Technology Layer
Technology is what connects the different services.
Cardaq’s APIs support payment schemes and methods, card management and foreign exchange services. Businesses can use them to integrate financial services into their own technology stack.
The APIs can also support companies that want to embed financial services within their own products and services.
Operational Infrastructure
The payment itself is only one part of the process.
Beyond processing, businesses also need settlement, reporting, transaction data and reconciliation of incoming transactions.
As the volume of transactions increases, managing these processes manually becomes increasingly difficult.
Cardaq continues to invest in automating reporting and reconciliation.
This infrastructure layer is designed to help businesses track and reconcile payment activity.
Who Can Use This Infrastructure?
The infrastructure model can be relevant to several types of businesses.
These include:
- Fintech companies
- Online businesses
- Merchants
- Marketplaces
- Financial services companies
- Businesses developing card programmes
- Technology companies incorporating financial services
Requirements vary from business to business, but all need financial infrastructure that supports payments.
A Connected Approach to Payments
These functions can be connected, enabling companies to develop financial products using the infrastructure as building blocks.
By providing issuing, acquiring, accounts, payments, FX and technology services in one place, Cardaq enables businesses to develop financial products and services around a central infrastructure layer.
As payment products evolve, a connected infrastructure model will become increasingly important for companies operating across multiple markets and financial services.
Explore Cardaq’s payment services
Cardaq Limited is authorised by the FCA as an Electronic Money Institution (FRN 900088).
