The Card Processing Center plays an important role in the processing of card transactions. It is a technology platform that provides communication between the participants (issuers and acquirers) involved in the card scheme. In some cases, processing centers provide clearing and settlement of card transactions, thus acting as a payment system.

 

There are two legal entities functioning in Georgia: Georgian Card and United Financial Corporation, running the card processing systems. They manage the completion of the majority of card transactions in Georgia. They support the processing of both local and international card transactions. Participants in these two card systems are commercial banks, microfinance institutions, and registered payment service providers. These companies are registered with the National Bank of Georgia as payment system operators. Georgian Card and United Finance Corporation, in addition to running the card system, provide personalization of various types of cards (payment, discount, membership, bonus, identification, etc.), support for acquiring services at points of sales/services, ATM network support management, token service and other payment card related services.

 

In addition to the above registered card systems, there are Liberty Bank and Cartu Bank processing centers in Georgia. They are the property of the bank and are managed by the structural units of the bank. Liberty Bank processing center also provides services to other payment service providers.

 

Inter-processing transactions performed with payment instruments are cleared abroad, at the clearing centers of international payment systems. Payment of foreign currency transactions is performed at foreign settlement banks of international card systems. Settlement of transactions in national currency is performed in real time in the real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) of the National Bank of Georgia.