What are credit card associations? What is the difference between credit card associations and PINless Debit card networks? Both credit card associations and PINless Debit card networks are the networks of issuing and acquiring banks which process cards of certain brands. Credit card associations (e.g. Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, etc.) emerged first and charged quite high percentage (2–3.5 %) from every processed transaction. Consequently, an alternative solution appeared — PINless Debit card networks (e.g. NYCE, Pulse, Interlink, Cirrus, etc.).
Today the difference between interchange fees within credit card associations and PINless Debit card networks is not very significant (after Durbin Amendment adoption), but still it can make difference for some businesses, especially the ones with high processing volumes.
There are two more reasons why businesses prefer to use PINless Debit card networks. First, The concept of chargeback does not existed within PINless Debit card networks, that’s why businesses with the high amount of chargebacks can solve this problem processing payments through debit card networks. Second, PINless debit transactions are confirmed immediately and you do not need to wait 2–3 days for the money to be transferred, but, for instance, you will have to wait if an ACH transfer takes place.
Additional information on the advantages of PINless Debit card networks can be found in the respective article at #PayVisors (visit blog at payvisors.com). Interested in the example of the payment processing software which supports processing through PINless debit card networks? Consider UniPay Payment Management Platform (visit the website).
