Cardholder and Card Issuer

The card issuer guarantees payment to the acquirer for transactions or services rendered to the cardholder upon proper authentication and authorization of the cardholder, provided all required conditions are met. The card serves to identify the cardholder and the card issuer. In addition, the card may carry other information such as period of validity (e.g., expiration date) and security related information (e.g., PIN offset). The cardholder and issuer may agree on a secret Personal Identification Number (PIN) to be used during transactions. The transaction processing system has an obligation to maintain the PIN secrecy while transporting the transaction from cardholder to card issuer. Note that the card issuer may delegate responsibility for verification of the PIN to an agent.