• Learn about the different players in the payments ecosystem, and bring it into a real life situation you can relate with.
• We'll go through all of the elements of the Payments Ecosystem including Issuers, Acquirers, Banks, and Card Networks.
• We'll talk about the players in the space and some innovations happening.
• You will have an opportunity to sketch out your own interactions with the Payments Ecosystem

• We'll talk about how money actually moves. What happens at time of authorization, and what happens at time of clearing.
• What is the role of the banks and networks?
• Discuss timing of money movement and what types of opportunities could exist because of this timing.
• Challenges with moving money in real time

We'll discuss how all parts of the the ecosystem make money.

• What is the motivation of the merchant?
• What is the motivation of the merchant processor?
• What is the motivation of the card issuer?
• What is the motivation of the card network?

We'll also walk through the Payments Mocha and how revenue is made for all parts of the payments ecosystem.

You'll be able to distinguish between the following card types:

• Credit vs Debit
• Commercial vs Consumer
• Durbin vs Durbin Exempt

You'll be able to distinguish between the following merchant types:

• Online vs Offline
• Interchange Fixed Pricing vs Interchange Plus Pricing
• High Risk vs Low Risk

We'll build some financial models in class to illustrate interchange impact to the merchant and to the issuer.