Mar 03, 2021 “This report card is a warning and a call to action,” Buttigieg told The Associated Press. “A generation of disinvestment is catching up to us, and we must choose whether to allow our global competitors to pull ahead permanently, or to invest in the safety, equity, resilience and economic strength that superior infrastructure can bring to Americans.”. No credit card required. On-Demand Admissions Guidance Tool. 1 Year Access $349. There is simply no other way to get access to this level of expertise for this price. Pepperdine is a highly rated private, Christian university located in California. It is a small institution with an enrollment of 3,336 undergraduate students.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Secure Access Management Services (SAMS) is a federal information technology (IT) system that gives authorized personnel secure access to non-public CDC applications.
Energy infrastructure has improved over the past four years, but U.S. infrastructure is in need of significant investment overall. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on March 3 released its 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, a quadrennial assessment of U.S. infrastructure, which gave the United States an overall grade of “C-“ and found the country is spending just over half of what is required to support the backbone of the economy.
According to the Report Card, energy infrastructure, including pipelines, has improved over the last four years. Overall, the long-term infrastructure investment gap continues to grow, according to ASCE. That gap has risen from $2.1 trillion over 10 years in the last report to $2.59 trillion in the latest study, meaning a funding gap of $259 billion per year.
The study evaluated 17 categories of infrastructure, with grades ranging from a “B” for Rail to a “D-“ for Transit. For the first time in 20 years, the country’s infrastructure as a whole received a grade in the “C” range, meaning on average, the nation’s infrastructure is in mediocre condition, has deficiencies and needs attention. However, 11 of the 17 categories in the Report Card received a grade in the “D” range: aviation, dams, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, public parks, roads, schools, stormwater, transit and wastewater.
Over the past four years, the United States made incremental gains in some categories, according to the Report Card. Due to increased investment, grades improved in aviation, drinking water, energy, inland waterways and ports. One infrastructure category – bridges – saw a decrease in grade in part because of the number of bridges that slipped to “fair” condition from “good.” Transit received a “D-“ in the report, the lowest grade. Some 45 percent of Americans lack access to transit and existing infrastructure is aging.
“This not a report card anyone would be proud to take home,” said ASCE executive director Thomas Smith. “We have not made significant enough investments to maintain infrastructure that in some cases was built more than 50 years ago. As this study shows, we risk significant economic losses, higher costs to consumers, businesses and manufacturers, and our quality of life, if we don’t act urgently. When we fail to invest in infrastructure, we pay the price.”
There were 22 weather and climate disasters in the United States that cost at least $1 billion in 2020, the most in history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
If the United States does not pay its overdue infrastructure bill, ASCE said by 2039 the U.S. economy will lose $10 trillion in growth and exports will decline by $2.4 trillion. More than 3 million jobs will be lost in 2039. In addition, each American household will bear $3,300 in hidden costs per year.
ASCE highlighted the role infrastructure investment could play in speeding the nation’s economic recovery.
“America’s infrastructure bill is overdue, and we have been ignoring it for years. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbates the funding challenge because state and local governments have had to prioritize public health over everything else for the past year,” said ASCE president Jean-Louis Briaud, Ph.D., P.E. “If we take action now, we can generate job growth and build infrastructure that is more reliable, more secure and more resilient while increasing the quality of life for everyone.”
ASCE called on Congress and the administration to take “big and bold action” on infrastructure quickly.
“Infrastructure is an issue that everyone agrees needs action and doing so will help the U.S. now and in the future. Delaying only increases the costs,” said Emily Feenstra, ASCE managing director of government relations and infrastructure initiatives.
While ASCE grades the categories individually, the nation’s infrastructure is a series of connected systems. The report found three overarching trends impacting infrastructure:
Maintenance backlogs continue to be an issue, but asset management helps prioritize limited funding.
State and local governments have made progress such as leveraging gas tax to fund transportation investments, and some limited federal investment has also paid dividends.
There are still infrastructure sectors where data is scarce or unreliable.
The 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure was released publicly during a virtual news conference that was followed by ASCE’s Solutions Summit. This separate event included spotlights on various infrastructure topics – energy, dams and levees, transportation, water, and inland waterways and ports. Featured speakers included Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Senator Shelley More Capito (R-WV), and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR), among others.
To view the full report and additional data, visit www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
Using a simple “A” to “F” school report card format, ASCE’s Infrastructure Report Card provides a comprehensive assessment of current infrastructure conditions and needs, assigning grades and making recommendations to raise them. The ASCE Committee on America’s Infrastructure, made up of dedicated civil engineers from across the country with decades of expertise in all categories, prepares the Report Card, assessing all relevant data and reports, consulting with technical and industry experts, and assigning grades using the following criteria: capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation. Since 1998, the grades have been near failing, averaging only Ds, due to delayed maintenance and underinvestment across most categories.
From the smallest café to the largest financial institution, credit cards are an important part of every business. As a merchant, it’s important you understand how credit card processing works – and what your options are when shopping for payment providers.
What Is Payment Processing?
Payment processing describes the steps required to move money from a successful sale into your business’s bank account – as quickly, cost-effectively, and easily as possible.
While accepting cash payments is fundamental for many businesses, accepting credit cards is a key part of expanding.
According to one study, 30 percent of all transactions were paid with cash, suggesting the majority of consumers rely1:
- Directly on credit card processing (using traditional consumer plastic)
- Indirectly on CC processing (via digital wallets on their smartphones)
Any business unable to process credit card payments risks missing out on a large percentage of potential sales.
To help ensure this doesn’t happen to you, it’s important to understand what credit card processing involves – and how payment processing works behind the scenes.
What Is Credit Card Processing?
Credit card processing is what allows businesses to securely accept payments made via credit, debit, gift, and even loyalty cards. This ability to capture card-based sales used to involve a one-size-fits-all approach, complete with complex configurations and long authorization delays. Today, there are more payment processing options than ever before – many of which are tailored for specific types of businesses.
For example, the online credit card processing solutions that an eCommerce merchant might explore are very different from what a brick-and-mortar retailer needs – and vice versa.
Ultimately, this variety is a plus as business owners can find the right payment solutions for their individual needs. With so many options available, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why it’s important to pick a trustworthy partner that can guide you throughout the entire process – from selecting a POS system to learning how to process payments quickly and securely.
If you’re not sure how payment processing works, the following represents the minimum to get started. Though, depending on your specific payment environment, you may need to invest in additional tools and equipment:
- Select a merchant account – Before a business can accept credit cards, it first needs to set up a merchant services account.
- Select a POS system – This is the combination of hardware and software that allows brick-and-mortar merchants to capture in-person credit card payments.
- Select a payment gateway – As an eCommerce merchant, payment gateways are necessary for online credit card processing.
Merchant accounts are a specific type of bank account that allows businesses to accept payments by debit, credit, or gift card. Ultimately, a merchant account is an agreement between a retailer, a merchant acquiring bank, and a payment provider for the processing of credit and debit card transactions.
In addition to payment processing, a POS system can help merchants manage their business operations, from tracking inventory to scheduling appointments to logging employee hours.
A payment gateway is linked to your business’s online checkout form or shopping cart. It captures and encrypts customers’ credit card data and sends this information to the payment processor for authorization.
How Payment Processing Works – Who’s Involved?
Understanding credit card processing basics allows you to make better-informed decisions about which payment solutions are best suited for your business. For example, you can avoid unnecessary add-ons and fees by designing a payment environment that only delivers the specific features you need to securely, quickly, and easily process incoming card-based sales.
In the next section, we’ll explore the details of how payment processing works. First, we need to meet the key parties that make each transaction possible:
- The cardholder is the customer who initiates an in-person or online purchase using a credit or debit card
- The card issuer is the bank that provides its customers with consumer plastic
- The merchant is the card-accepting business owner selling whatever goods or services the customer is trying to purchase
- The payment processor is responsible for securely routing the transactions captured by the merchant’s point-of-sale device to the customer’s card-issuing bank for approval
- The card association is the network maintained by the major brands (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, etc.). This card association is responsible for setting fees, resolving disputes, and establishing security guidelines for the network
- The acquiring bank is what the merchant uses to ultimately collect funds from the issuing bank. This may be the same entity as the merchant’s payment processor
How Payment Processing Works – What Steps Are Involved?
Now that you understand the parties involved, let’s look specifically at how credit card processing works behind the scenes. Although every payment environment is slightly different, almost every successful card-based sale goes through two main steps – authorization and settlement.
Step 1: Payment Authorization
Below are the credit card processing basics of how authorization works:
- When a cardholder swipes, dips, or keys in payment information during checkout, the merchant’s POS terminal or payment gateway tokenizes and encrypts this data before sending it to the payment processor
- The payment processor routes this data to the customer’s card-issuing bank through the card association’s network
- The card-issuing bank verifies the identity of the customer and whether he or she has sufficient funds to cover the sale
- An authorization or decline is sent back through the chain from the card issuing bank to the payment processor to the merchant’s POS terminal or payment gateway
If the transaction is approved, the merchant has technically made a successful sale. However, this money is not deposited into the merchant’s acquiring bank just yet. This is because the transaction must go through another step – settlement.
Step 2: Payment Settlement
Here are the credit card processing basics of how payment settlement works:
- Once a transaction has been authorized, the merchant’s POS terminal or payment gateway sends the approval to the payment processor that reconciles the transaction
- The payment processor deposits the transaction amount in the merchant’s acquiring bank (minus any fees). This settlement period typically takes one or two business days, with most transactions being batched together on a daily basis instead of going through the settlement process in real time. Batching helps to reduce total processing costs – especially among merchants that generate hundreds or thousands of sales every day
- While the payment processor deposits money in the merchant’s acquiring bank account, the card network deducts the purchase amount from the card-issuing bank before sending this transaction balance to the payment processor or acquiring bank (minus fees)
- The card-issuing bank deducts the amount from the customer’s account before sending an invoice or statement to the cardholder (minus fees). If using a debit card, the customer’s job is finished. If paying with a credit card, the customer needs to settle his or her statement in the next billing cycle or pay interest charges
The Right POS Technology Can Help Improve How Payment Processing Works
We specialize in a range of payment processing solutions to help you securely capture new sales in today's ever-changing marketplace – whether you want to accept:
- Credit and debit cards
- Mobile payments
- Online transactions
Our extensive portfolio of innovative small business credit card processing and large merchant services is designed to help businesses get more value from every transaction.
Below are some of the most popular POS systems that integrate seamlessly with our PCI-compliant credit card payment processing solutions.
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1. Clover® Station Pro
The Clover Station Pro is our fastest, most secure, and most customer-engaging POS system yet.
The innovative technology makes it easy to:
- Capture customer information
- Offer rewards
- Accept mostly any type of payment available – from contactless mobile payments to EMV® chip cards
It also comes with a smart terminal to enable customers to confirm their orders and complete payment faster.
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2. Clover Station
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The Clover Station is a POS solution that can manage an entire business all in one system, from accepting payments to managing employees to tracking inventory.
The Clover Station can take virtually all kinds of payments, including:
- Magnetic stripe
- EMV chip
- Contactless payments
Additionally, the Clover Station is compatible with a variety of peripherals from barcode scanners to kitchen printers.
3. Clover Mini
The Clover Mini is the sleekest, most flexible payment terminal around. It is a simple and entirely self-contained credit card processing solution that allows you to accept more kinds of payments, including:
- Magnetic stripe
- EMV chip
- Contactless payments
As your business grows, the Clover Mini can easily scale up to full POS functionality, thanks to a range of specialized apps from the Clover App Market.
4. Clover Flex
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The Clover Flex is an all-in-one device with built-in capabilities to help you better serve customers, whether it's in-store or in the field.
The Clover Flex helps protect your customers, your business, and your reputation from fraud with Clover Security Plus.
5. Clover Go
Using your smartphone or tablet, the Clover Go allows you to securely and reliably accept both credit and debit cards on the go – including EMV chip cards and contactless payments such as:
- Apple Pay®
- Samsung Pay®
- Google PayTM
Clover Go is ready right out of the box. Just pair it with your iOS or Android device, and start accepting chip cards, contactless payments, and more.
Credit Card Processing Solutions Help Boost Sales
The simple act of accepting credit card payments can help boost your business. Research shows that sales can double (or even triple), with one survey finding that2:
- 83 percent of small businesses that started accepting credit cards saw increased sales
- 52 percent of businesses made at least $1,000 more a month
- 18 percent made at least $20,000 more a month
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The bottom line is that if you want your business to grow, you need to accept credit and debit cards.
Want to Learn About Our Credit Card Processing Solutions?
If you still have questions about how payment processing works, schedule a free consultation with our team today for your:
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1 “2018 Findings from the Diary of Consumer Payment Choice,' Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 15 November 2018
2 “Cash Isn’t Always King: Accepting Credit Cards Can Increase Your Business,' Small Business Trends, 28 January 2019