Card payments often look identical at the checkout, but what happens behind the scenes can be very different.
Key takeaways
On-us transactions happen when issuer and acquirer are the same bank and stay on internal rails.
Off-us transactions involve different banks and require card networks and interbank settlement.
The difference has major implications for payment speed, fees, and infrastructure design.
The key distinction is whether a transaction is processed on-us or off-us – a technical detail that has major consequences for speed, cost, and financial infrastructure.
Same bank or different banks makes all the difference
At its core, the on-us versus off-us question is simple: are the cardholder’s bank and the merchant’s bank the same institution, or not? That single factor determines whether a payment stays within one bank’s internal systems or needs to travel through global card networks and interbank settlement layers.
On-us transactions stay inside one bank
An on-us transaction occurs when the card issuer and the merchant acquirer are the same bank. In this case, the entire payment flow remains internal. Authorization, clearing, and settlement are handled within the bank’s own rails, without relying on external networks.
A typical example would be a Standard Bank card used at a merchant that is also acquired by Standard Bank. Because issuer and acquirer are the same, routing is simpler, processing is faster, and costs are usually lower.
Off-us transactions rely on card networks
Off-us transactions come into play when the cardholder’s bank and the merchant’s bank are different. Here, the issuer and acquirer are separate institutions, which means the transaction must be routed through a card network such as Visa, Mastercard, or RuPay.
For example, a Standard Bank card used at a merchant acquired by Alfa Bank triggers an off-us flow. The payment moves from the merchant to the acquirer, across the card network to the issuer, and later through interbank settlement. This adds complexity, time, and additional fees.
Why this matters for the financial system
While the concept is straightforward, the implications are significant. On-us transactions are typically faster and cheaper because they avoid network fees and interbank settlement. Off-us transactions, on the other hand, depend on global payment networks and clearing systems, making them more expensive and operationally complex.
As banks, fintechs, and regulators rethink payment infrastructure, the balance between internal rails and network-based payments plays a growing role in discussions around efficiency, resilience, and cost reduction.
