Card Issuing Bank

A card issuing bank is a bank that is a member of the EFT Network. They issue credit cards under the Visa or MasterCard logo. Card issuing banks take the responsibility of checking the credit rating or history of a credit card applicant. They also set the interest rates that a customer pays and handle billing the customer.

Merchants will receive funds for credit card transaction from the card issuing banks that sponsor the credit card. There are only a few card issuing banks, but hundreds of different credit cards that they offer. Some card issuing banks offer both MasterCard and Visa services. The merchant has no control over what card issuing banks they do business with, as that will be determined by whatever bank the customer has applied with for the credit card. An example of a card issuing bank is Citibank, who offer a Visa card.

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