How to Understand Payment Flow

Payment flow refers to all of the steps involved in the execution of a monetary transaction. The key players in a payment flow are the customers, merchants, the payment service providers, and the banks. A payment flow can be broken down into 4 simple steps namely initiation of a transaction, acquiring of information, verification of information entered, and completion of a transaction.

In the first step, the key players are the customer and the merchant. The key players in the second step include the merchant website and the payment service provider. The payment service provider and the banks involved are the key players in the third step and the transaction is completed right where it began, between the customer and the merchant. Payment Asia reviews record the help merchants receive from Payment Asia in securing payment flow.

Initiation of transaction

Every transaction is initiated by the customer upon choosing the “pay” option on the merchant’s website. This sets in motion the payment flow. As in an offline purchase, the first step is to go through all of the products offered by the merchant and to arrive upon the desired product. The product(s) are loaded onto the shopping cart and taken to the cashier to make payments.

Similarly, every product that the customer desires to purchase from the merchant’s website is added to a cart following which the customer proceeds to check out, thereby kick-starting the second step of the payment flow.

Acquiring information

Once the customer proceeds to check out of the merchant’s e-store with the desired products, the merchant collects information relevant to the payment and conveys them to the payment service providers. Conversely, some merchants opt for payment channels wherein right after check out, the customer is redirected to the payment service provider who collects the information and conveys it directly to the banks.

The experts at Payment Asia help merchants choose the payment channel that best suits their needs and requirements and budgetary limits. This is often mentioned in Payment Asia reviews.

Verification of information

This is the decisive step in every payment flow. It determines the outcome of the transaction. The information regarding the cost of the entire purchase is conveyed to the bank whose details are acquired from the customer.

The bank verifies if such a transaction can be made and relays the information to the payment service provider who in turn informs the customer via the merchant’s website. The information from the bank post-verification of the details acquired from the customer kick-starts the final step in a payment flow.

Completion of transaction

The Payment flow is completed when the information conveyed by the bank post-verification reaches the customers. If the bank responds in the affirmative, the amount due is deducted from the customer’s account and deposited in the merchant’s account and this information is conveyed to the customer indicating a successful transaction. If the bank responds in the negative, the transaction fails and the customer is informed of the same. This could be due to insufficient funds or entering incorrect details.