00:01 · Inner Workings · 14 min
A Payment Crosses Four Desks
What actually happens in the two seconds after you tap your card?
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- Channel:
- 00:01
Inner Workings - Languages:
- In English, Arabic and Spanish
The question:
What actually happens in the two seconds after you tap your card?
A card taps a terminal in a café, and a request sets off across four desks: the terminal, the merchant's bank, the card network and the bank that issued the card. The film follows that one message there and back, then follows the money, which moves later and far more slowly.
From storyboard to screen
- 01 Sketch
- 02 Animatic
- 03 Final frame
Sources
Built on primary sources
- EMVCoEMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications for Payment Systems
- Federal ReserveThe Federal Reserve Payments Study
Your coffee is paid for in four ledgers before you take a sip.
What you'll understand
A tap sends an authorisation request from the terminal to the merchant's bank, the acquirer, which passes it to the card network.
The network routes the request to the bank that issued your card, and that bank decides yes or no.
An approval only promises the money; the merchant is paid later, when the day's payments are cleared and settled.
The chip signs each payment with a one-time code, so a copied card number is far less useful to a thief.
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