[tzs]

I've tried on occasion to figure out all the players involved in processing a payment, and their relationships and responsibilities. It is complicated because (1) so many companies offer multiple services (gateway, merchant account, etc) and their documentation blurs the distinction, and (2) some companies use different names for the same thing.

Here was my best attempt: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2445866

If your blog post could cover all the components I tried to cover there--but without the errors I probably made and with the gaps filled, I and many others would be grateful and ecstatic.