Merchant Acquirer, Equipment and Payment Gateway Services

Descriptions

Merchant Acquiring Services is an integral part of the debit and credit card payment transaction process. The services are required to enable merchants and retailers (in this case the Council) to accept card payments, with the acquirer acting as the link between the Council, the card association (e.g. Visa or Mastercard) and the issuing bank for the customer’s payment card. The acquirer collects the card based payments from the issuing bank and credits the Council’s nominated bank account with the customer’s payment. The services enable the processing, authorisation and settlement of customer payments by debit and credit card where these have been made to the Council in person, by telephone or online. The Merchant Acquirer is responsible for transferring payment for income streams including Council Tax, Non Domestic Rates and other sundry debt income. The Council requires this service to be provided without interruption as the supplier underpins the collection of income.