How batch processing works for cards
Authorisation is real-time and individual. Capture is not: captured payments collect in an open batch on the terminal or the gateway through the day.
At the cut-off the batch is closed and submitted. The acquirer builds clearing records from it and sends them to the scheme, which passes them to the issuers, and settlement follows on the scheme's cycle.
Some debit networks work differently and use a single message that both authorises and clears. Most credit and e-commerce traffic uses the two-step model.
Where else payments run in batches
- Bank transfers and direct debits cleared in cycles
- Payouts from an acquirer or a marketplace to its merchants
- Settlement and reconciliation files from schemes and banks
- Recurring billing runs
Why batch processing matters
The cut-off decides the payout date: a payment captured a minute late settles a day later. A failed batch delays a whole day's funds, so batches are monitored and can be resubmitted.
Resubmission has to be safe. Each record needs a stable identifier, so that sending a batch twice does not charge customers twice, and batch totals are reconciled against the ledger.
Batch or real-time processing?
- Real-time processing
- Each payment is cleared and settled on its own within seconds, at any hour, as instant payment schemes do. No cut-off applies.
- Authorisation
- Always real-time for cards. The batch concerns what happens after approval.
Where Batch processing shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
- LedgerThe double-entry book of record behind every balance, fee and transfer.
- PayoutsMoney out to bank accounts, cards and wallets, on the rail that fits each payment.
- BackofficeOne console to run the platform: customers, money, risk, content and staff permissions.