Nowadays, digital payments are growing in popularity as they are becoming a new reality. Therefore, being able to process card payments is essential for any online business’s competitiveness and profitability. For merchants to start accepting payments on their website, they need to sign a contract with an acquirer. If you’re not yet familiar with this term, this article covers everything about acquiring and how internet acquiring works.
In simple terms, an acquirer is a financial institution that handles transactions between a merchant and a customer. Keep in mind that an acquirer should be licensed with a card association (MasterCard, Visa, etc.) as well as comply with the relevant requirements (MasterCard or Visa merchant acquiring rules, for example).
The role of an acquirer is to process card transactions. But how does it work? When merchants want to process debit or credit card transactions on their business website, they need to sign a contract with an acquiring bank. Then, during the payment process, an acquirer authorizes card transactions and connects to an issuing bank on the merchant’s behalf.
In banking architecture, the issuer-acquirer relation is situated between a merchant and a customer. Don’t forget that some acquiring banks partner with third-party payment providers. Merchants may need to choose a payment provider themselves, sometimes even before selecting a third-party acquirer.
A merchant needs an online payment acquirer to accept payments for their company’s goods or services. However, besides selecting an acquirer, merchants often need to choose a gateway that will provide a payment window for their shop during online purchases. Both acquiring banks and payment gateway services can help secure a merchant’s transactions.
Here are some recommendations that can assist you in choosing the right provider of merchant acquiring services:
Payment acquirers are the mediators between merchants and customers. To make the best choice, we recommend that you picture exactly what you are looking for and do not hesitate to ask professionals as many questions as you need.
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