Editing Wikipedia

The hardest part of this assignment was determining what subject I have enough knowledge/expertise in that would enable me to edit Wikipedia. After many hours (it seemed like) I finally realized I have knowledge about credit cards, from the issuer and the acquirer perspective. Then came the arduous task of reading what has previously been written and deciding if the content is correct, almost correct, worth the effort to correct, or just plain incorrect. And I am surprised to say, that for the most part the information contained in the article on credit cards is accurate. It is obvious some authors are more knowledgeable than others as evidenced by the author discussing the discount fees (a percentage of the transaction amount) but does not directly address the interchange fees. Basically, a discount fee is assessed to the entity that has the lesser risk in receiving payment and given to the entity with the greater risk in receiving payment. Typically, the acquiring bank pays the fee to the issuing bank because the credit card associations pay the acquirer which is pretty much a guaranteed thing while the issuing bank has to be paid by the customer which, especially in these times, is not guaranteed. An interchange fee is what the card association charges to send the transaction from the merchant to the issuer and back again, sort of a processing and handling fee.

Once I determined what I could/would edit it was a very easy process because my edits were minor. My minor edit was available real time after I clicked the 'Save' button. I had previously registered with Wikipedia so once I logged in I was set to go. I am not brave enough to attempt a major edit even though I feel I have the knowledge base, I don't have the requisite citations to go along with the major edits.

Here are the before and after shots of what I edited.

BEFORE
For each purchase, the bank charges the merchant a commission (discount fee) for this service and there may be a certain delay before the agreed payment is received by the merchant. The commission is often a percentage of the transaction amount, plus a fixed fee. In addition, a merchant may be penalized or have their ability to receive payment using that credit card restricted if there are too many cancellations or reversals of charges as a result of disputes. Some small merchants require credit purchases to have a minimum amount to compensate for the transaction costs.

AFTER
For each purchase, the bank charges the merchant a commission (discount fee) for this service and there may be a certain delay before the agreed payment is received by the merchant. The commission is often a percentage of the transaction amount, plus a fixed fee (interchange rate). In addition, a merchant may be penalized or have their ability to receive payment using that credit card restricted if there are too many cancellations or reversals of charges as a result of disputes. Some small merchants require credit purchases to have a minimum amount to compensate for the transaction costs.