Merchant Processing: Comptroller's Handbook December 2001

Merchant processing is the settlement of electronic payment transactions formerchants. Merchant processing activities involve gathering salesinformation from the merchant, obtaining authorization for the transaction,collecting funds from the card-issuing bank, and reimbursing the merchant. The processing of sales transactions for merchants by banks does not directlyaffect the bank’s balance sheet except through settlement accounts andreserve balances. However, merchant processing can create significant off-balance-sheet contingent liabilities that may result in losses to the bank.