Helping acquirers grow through smarter use of transaction data

The need to improve legacy systems is apparent in how acquirers anticipate the funds they are due from issuers. Visa plays a role in moving funds across its network every day by clearing and settling funds.

Acquirers have increasingly focused on anticipating how much they will receive via networks so they can closely manage their P&Ls and offer competitive, fast merchant payouts that attract and retain customers.

However, if acquirers estimate incomings too high, they could pay a merchant too much at the expense of their target margins. If they estimate too low, they could face reputational risk or merchant dissatisfaction from the perception of overcharge.

Addressing these challenges should be a top priority to help acquirers maintain a competitive advantage and foster long-term merchant partnerships.

In a landscape where timely and precise settlements are crucial, acquirers should have an efficient and reliable system in place. With Clearing and Settlement (CAS) Advices from Visa, acquirers can access fast, transaction-level reconciliation data. CAS Advices provides TC33 records that contain critical settlement reconciliation data such as interchange rate fee amounts.

The potential benefits of CAS Advices include:

1. Access to precise, accurate settlement information before an acquirer receives settlement funds from Visa. CAS Advices sends amounts that get into transaction-level detail with a breadth of flexible configuration options to access additional information as needed. They directly roll up to eventual settlement positions, providing acquirers with accurate and consistent calculations when settling with merchants or predicting interchange revenue.
2. A competitive edge from the ability to speed up merchant settlement and manage risk. Quicker response times and more informed decision making give acquirers a boost over those using less advanced systems. This particularly helps entities that are new to acquiring or rolling out into new geographies but don’t want to build a sophisticated system to manage varying interchange rates.
3. Increases in operational efficiency from simplified payment infrastructure. Acquirers might otherwise build and maintain manual processes, develop in-house technology, or pay for estimation software to manage their positions. Replacing these approaches presents an opportunity to reduce overhead costs.
4. Maintaining merchant trust by preventing discrepancies that result in uncollected fees or over-collected fees that require additional bank transactions or adjustments to future net settlement transactions.
    

CAS Advices is a powerful tool for any acquirer. It can help you make your operations more efficient, make more informed decisions, and create a competitive advantage. Learn more about our solution here.