Card acquiring & issuing program design

Overview

That runs from scheme membership and processor/BIN sponsor selection through to program economics, interchange and scheme fee modelling, and the operating model that sits behind day-to-day running of the program.

It includes designing the risk framework (underwriting, chargeback and dispute management, fraud and AML controls) and the authentication and tokenisation choices that now shape both approval rates and fraud losses: SCA and 3-D Secure flows, network tokens and wallet provisioning.

And it covers the settlement, reconciliation and reporting processes a card program depends on once it is live, so the program is built to run at scale, not just to launch.

What we do

• Scheme & sponsor selection

  Scheme membership and processor/BIN sponsor selection.

• Program economics

  Interchange and scheme fee modelling behind a sustainable program.

• Risk framework

  Underwriting, chargeback and dispute management, fraud and AML controls.

• Authentication & tokens

  SCA and 3-D Secure journeys, network tokenisation and wallet provisioning designed into the program.

• Operating model

  Settlement, reconciliation and reporting — built to run at scale, not just to launch.

The program stack

We design programs end to end, for issuing, acquiring or both:

• Issuing. Scheme membership or a BIN sponsor, processor and card management system, product design across debit, credit, prepaid and virtual cards, and wallet and token provisioning.
• Acquiring. Merchant onboarding and underwriting, gateway and processor choice, payment methods beyond cards and settlement to merchants.
• Authentication. SCA and 3-D Secure journeys tuned for approval rates as well as fraud, including exemptions and network tokens.

Platform choice runs through vendor & processor RFP selection.

Program economics

Interchange, scheme and processing fee modelling sits at the centre of program economics. Actual fee structures vary by scheme, region and program type, and they are under regulatory and commercial pressure, so we model scenarios rather than a single fee table and feed the result into the business case.

Risk framework

Controls are designed in from day one, not bolted on:

• Underwriting. Who the program takes on, and on what terms.
• Chargebacks and disputes. How disputes are managed once the program is live.
• Fraud controls. Real-time monitoring, authentication and liability designed in from the start.
• AML controls. Anti-money-laundering controls as part of the framework.

For cross-border flows, payment screening for SWIFT traffic sits with our sanctions & compliance screening service. The regulatory side is covered in PSD2/PSD3 & regulatory advisory.

Once it is live

A program has to run at scale, not just launch. We design the settlement, reconciliation and reporting processes it depends on, and the operating model, staffing and service levels behind day-to-day running. For banks moving platform, see banking systems.