Money & Finance › Payments & money movement › Credit and debit card payments: how a swipe or tap gets paid
Payment processors and acquirers: Stripe, Square, Fiserv
Square 2009, Stripe 2010· Institution or agency
Fact, law or dataA rule, statute, definition or measured number.
Companies that connect a merchant's card reader or website to the card networks and deposit the sales, minus fees, in the merchant's bank.
See it on the Money & Finance map →How it works
Several roles: the acquirer, a bank or licensed firm that sponsors the merchant with Visa and Mastercard; the processor, which routes approvals and batches settlement; and the gateway or terminal. Square (2009) and Stripe (2010) made signing up simple by boarding small merchants under their own master account as 'payment facilitators'. Fiserv, owner of First Data and Clover since 2019, is the largest by some measures. Merchants usually pay about 2.5–3.5% all-in on credit cards and get funds in one to two days.
Why it matters
They decide what accepting cards costs a small business, which merchants get approved, and when a merchant's funds can be held back.
Facts, rules and data
Company filings (Block, Fiserv), Stripe's published US pricing (2.9% plus 30 cents for online cards), Nilson Report industry rankings, and card-network rules for acquirers.
Debates and risks
Whether stablecoins, instant bank payments or 'pay by bank' will undercut card fees, or simply become new products sold by the same processors.
Connections (2)
▸Payment processors and acquirers: Stripe, Square, Fiserv connect merchants to Credit and debit card payments: how a swipe or tap gets paidFact, law or data
The connection
A tap sends card data from the merchant's terminal to the processor, which routes it through the network to the issuer for approval in about two seconds. That night the processor batches sales; the issuer pays the network, which pays the acquirer, and the merchant gets the money minus interchange, network fees and the processor's markup, usually within two days.
When and why
Every US card sale; Fiserv, JPMorgan Chase, Global Payments, Stripe and Block's Square are among the largest US acquirers.
How we know
Card network operating rules, processors' SEC filings, and the Nilson Report's acquirer rankings.
Debates and risks
How much of the merchant fee is fair cost versus market power, argued in Congress over the proposed Credit Card Competition Act.
▸Payment processors and acquirers: Stripe, Square, Fiserv are adding settlement in Stablecoins: crypto tokens pegged to a currencyFact, law or data
The connection
Processors are adding stablecoins as another way to move merchants' money. Stripe bought the stablecoin firm Bridge for about $1.1 billion (closed February 2025) and lets merchants accept USDC; Visa settles some card transactions in USDC; Fiserv announced its own bank-network token, FIUSD, in 2025. The GENIUS Act's 2025 rules gave them firmer legal footing.
When and why
Mostly 2024–2026, led by Stripe, Visa, Fiserv and others, around and after the GENIUS Act's signing on July 18, 2025.
How we know
Company announcements and filings, Stripe's annual letters, and Visa's published stablecoin settlement figures.
Debates and risks
Whether shoppers will use stablecoins for everyday purchases, or whether they mainly serve cross-border payouts and corporate treasury.