A transaction processing system collects and stores data about transactions and sometimes controls decisions made as part of a transaction. The transaction is the activity that changes stored data, examples of such an activity would be using a credit card, making a reservation or making a cash withdrawal at an ATM.
There are two types of transaction processing:
Batch transaction processing: this is information that is gathered and stored but not processed immediately i.e. the processing of an invoice or cheques in a banking system.
Real time transaction processing: this is a transaction which is processed immediately and the operator has access to on-line database i.e. withdrawal from a bank account, Library loans.
Components of a transaction system:
The user of the information system is the person belonging to the organisation that owns the transaction system.
Participants are the people who conduct the information processing.
People from the environment become participants of the system as they directly enter transactions and perform validation.