When a merchant accepts a credit card from a customer to complete a sale, the customer's card number, credit card information, the merchant ID and the amount received travel through the bank's or the processor's computer network. The merchant can receive the credit card payment from his customer in three ways: when the customer uses the credit card at the terminal; over the Internet, where either the merchant or the customer keys in the necessary how to be a credit card processor information; or through the phone, where the merchant puts in the information. It is the responsibility of the bank or the processor to check with the corresponding card network, to confirm the card's validity and to see if the necessary funds are the available for the sale.

Subsequently, the customer's bank sends the merchant an approval over the network. This formality completes the sale. However, no money will be transferred to the merchant's bank account until the full batch - that is all the sale completed that day by the merchant - has been transferred to the merchant's processor or bank.