Who does what
In a card payment there are four, sometimes five.
The merchant initiates the request. The processor routes it and handles the technical side. The acquiring bank holds the merchant‘s account and receives the funds. The issuing bank holds the customer’s card and decides whether to approve. Between acquirer and issuer sits the card network, which sets the rules and takes a cut.
Each of them charges something. The number the merchant sees on the invoice is the sum of all of it.
What happens between “Pay” and money in the account
Authorisation comes first: the request travels to the issuer, which checks the balance and the risk score and answers yes or no. This takes a second or two.
Then the money sits. Authorisation reserves funds; it does not move them. Capture and clearing follow, usually the same day. Settlement, meaning money actually landing in the merchant account, arrives one to three business days later. In high-risk categories acquirers stretch it to three to five and hold a rolling reserve on top.
Then, for weeks afterwards, the transaction stays reversible. A customer can dispute it, and the merchant can lose both the money and a fee.
How crypto processing differs
The chain collapses. A crypto payment gateway generates an address for the order, the customer sends funds directly on the blockchain, the gateway watches for the transfer and confirms it against the network. There is no issuer, no acquirer and no card network in the middle.
Practical consequences: settlement in minutes, no chargebacks, and a fee structure with fewer layers. As of 2026 stablecoins carry around 82 percent of the volume moving through crypto gateways, according to CoinLaw, because merchants want the settlement speed without the price risk.
What does not disappear is compliance. The gateway still verifies the merchant, still screens transactions, still reports where the law requires it.
What processing costs
Card processing runs from 1.5 to 3.5 percent for ordinary categories and from 5 to 10 for high-risk ones. Crypto gateways charge from 0.4 to 1 percent.
The headline rate is rarely the whole bill. Conversion spread, payout fees, network fees, monthly minimums and high-risk surcharges all sit underneath it, and providers disclose them with varying enthusiasm. Compare all-in cost at your own volume, not the number on the pricing page.