Following its merger with \u201cEverything Card\u201d, the Interbank Card received a significant boost. A new high point in 1968 was the deal between Eurocard and ICA. The alliance paved the way for ICA to have free access into the European market. Then, the coalition was just ICA\/Eurocard. In 1972 MasterCard merged with Access Card System which is a UK based company. The name MasterCard was born in 1979. The partnership with other cards continued until 1997 when MasterCard officially took over Access Card. Since then, it has been from one collaboration\/merger to the other. Notable mergers included that of Europay international in 2001, Datacash in 2010, Pinpoint in 2014 and many more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
How it works<\/h2>\n
Now that you\u2019ve known a little about the story behind that tiny card that is home to all your finances let’s talk about how it works. There are three parties involved in the payment process. \u00a0The first is the Acquirer. This refers to banks or any other financial institution that has been approved by MasterCard. The next is the Issuer. This applies to any financial institution, retailer, business etc. that provides you with the MasterCard. In summary, you have the issuer that gives you the card and then the acquirer that allows you to use the card in their organisation. The next is the brand itself, MasterCard. What then is their role? MasterCard is the brain, technology, and network behind this whole idea.<\/p>\n
The payment flow involves the following steps:<\/h3>\n\n- You make payment at that local store<\/li>\n
- The information is sent to the acquirer via a secure channel for verification<\/li>\n
- The merchant (the local store where you made the purchase) waits for authorisation from the issuer<\/li>\n
- The issuer processes the information and authorises the transaction by providing feedback to the merchant<\/li>\n
- The merchant receives the payment from the issuing bank.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Future<\/h2>\n
So far, the history of MasterCard sends an unequivocal message. They are out to take over the financial world. This is obvious from their partnership with some of the top multinational companies in the world. The payment system process is very secure, fast and easy. All the procedures described takes place in a matter of a few seconds. Stay up to date with MasterCard by visiting the official UK website here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n