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Modulr glossary

Issuing Bank / Issuer

An issuing bank is a financial institution, sometimes a bank, that provides payment cards (credit, debit, or prepaid) directly to consumers or businesses. The issuing bank is responsible for managing cardholder accounts, authorising transactions, and handling customer service inquiries. Issuers can earn revenue through interchange fees and interest charges when consumers and merchants complete payments on their cards.

Applications

E-commerce:

Reduces fraud in online card payments by verifying the cardholder's identity

Banking and fintech:

Helps issuers and payment providers comply with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements.

Advantages

  • Enhanced security: Reduces unauthorised transactions by verifying that the genuine account holder is authorising the payment
  • Fraud prevention: Helps reduce chargebacks related to fraud.

Challenges

  • User Experience: Additional authentication steps can cause friction and increase checkout abandonment
  • Implementation complexity: Requires integration with card schemes and issuer systems.

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