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What happens in the 2 seconds after you tap your card

When you tap your card in a shop, a question about your money travels through three companies and comes back in about two seconds. Then the screen says Approved, yet not one cent has moved. Later, the shop even pays a small fee to your own bank. This comic follows the whole road of a card payment: the payment terminal, the acquirer, the card network and the issuer, authorization, clearing and settlement, interchange fees, the minimum some shops ask for a card, the EMV chip, tokenization in your phone, and chargebacks.