Acquirer

An Acquirer (or acquiring bank) is a bank or financial institution that processes credit or debit card payments on behalf of a merchant.

The acquirer allows merchants to accept credit card payments from the card-issuing banks within an association (like Visa or Mastercard). When a transaction takes place, the acquirer receives the authorization request from the merchant and forwards it to the issuer for approval.

Key Responsibilities

• Settling funds to the merchant's account.
• Managing the risk associated with merchant accounts.
• Providing the merchant with a Payment Facilitator or direct MID (Merchant ID).