Credit Card Issuer

The credit card issuer also referred to as the “issuing bank” or  “credit card company” is the bank  that backs the credit card financially.

The Credit Card Issuer/issuing bank is in charge of:

• Approving or denying credit card applications
• Setting the terms and most of the benefits on the account
• Paying for transactions on behalf of the cardholder
• Collecting payments from the cardholder
• Providing customer service

Credit card processor and Credit card issuers serve entirely different purposes. But, there is no rule that prevents a company from both processing and issuing credit cards.

Example: American Express is both credit card processor/networks and credit card issuer.