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UniPayGateway

November 12, 2015
Written by
James Davis
Written by James Davis
Senior Technical Writer at United Thinkers

Author of the Paylosophy blog, a veteran writer, and a stock analyst with extensive knowledge and experience in the financial services industry that allows me to cover the latest payment industry news, developments, and insights.

My works have been cited across media and payment blogs. I do my best to help businesses make the most efficient financial decisions that can positively and significantly improve their business growth.

Whether you are a seasoned investor or just starting out in the world of payments, my writing is designed to be accessible to everyone and help people navigate the complex world of payments. So if you want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and insights in the payment industry, be sure to check out Paylosophy and my published works.

Reviewed by
Kathrine Pensatori
Product Specialist at United Thinkers

Product specialist with more than 10 years of experience in the Payment Processing Industry. I help payment facilitators and PSPs solve their various payment processing issues. On a regular basis, I work with a team of knowledgeable technical people in the space, and I am passionate about finding creative solutions to the challenges presented by the Payments Industry.

I would be happy to help with any questions you might have regarding credit card payment processing, merchant services, EMV certifications, the various ways of becoming a payment facilitator or a payment platform, as well as any other Payment Industry related issues you might be struggling with. Feel free to follow me on Quora, and don’t hesitate to send me links to the specific Quora questions you would like me to answer.

Third Party Payment Processors

To accept payments online, businesses must rely on a third party payment processors. There are three types of these: a payment service provider, a payment facilitator and a payment aggregator. So what are the differences between these payment processors?

A payment service provider (PSP) is a company that provides merchants with individual merchant accounts and helps them with underwriting and payment processing but does not fund merchants directly. This is done by the acquirer. A payment facilitator acts similar to a PSP. Every merchant has its own Merchant Identification Number (MID) through which payments are processed, but it funds merchants directly. A payment aggregator works with small businesses and uses a single MID to process payments for all of them. The diagram below illustrates how it all works. Also, a more detailed explanation of these concepts is available in this article at the Paylosophy blog.

Third party payment processors
Third party payment processors

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