Merchant Accounts and Payment Gateways

Funds for credit card transactions are moved from issuing banks to acquiring banks over payment processor networks. These networks are connected via payment gateways but none of the payment gateways or the acquiring banks connect to all networks. Because of this, you must have a merchant account from an acquiring bank (or Independent Sales Organization) that is on the same network as your payment gateway.

Payment Gateways and Payment Processor Networks

This table shows the payment gateways that work on each payment processor network. If you already have a merchant account, find out which networks it connects with, and then apply for an account with a gateway that is on the same network. Be sure to check with both your bank and gateway that they support each other's processor network.