Final answer:
The acquirer pays the merchant, and the issuer bills the cardholder.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of this question falls under the Business category. It relates to the transaction process between a credit card acquirer, merchant, and cardholder.
When an acquirer pays the merchant for a cardholder's purchase, the issuer bills the cardholder for the transaction. The issuer is the credit card company that provides the card to the cardholder.
For example, if you use a credit card to buy a shirt at a store, the store receives the payment from the credit card acquirer. At the end of the billing cycle, the credit card company sends the cardholder a bill for the shirt purchase and any other transactions made during that period.