Role in the payment chain
Acquirers sit between merchants and card networks, providing MID credentials and settlement accounts.
Risk responsibilities
Acquirers monitor merchant fraud levels, refunds, and scheme compliance thresholds.
Sources
FAQ
Yes. Multi-acquirer setups are common for redundancy and geographic coverage.
Related terms
Explore related definitions
Settlement (Card Payments)
Settlement in card payments is the process of transferring cleared transaction funds from acquirers to merchants after authorization and clearing, net of fees, chargebacks, and rolling reserves.
Payment Gateway
A payment gateway is the technology layer that captures checkout payment details, routes authorization requests to acquirers or processors, and returns approval or decline responses to the merchant application.
Payment Facilitator (PayFac)
A payment facilitator aggregates many sub-merchants under one master merchant identification, enabling platforms to onboard sellers quickly while the PayFac manages underwriting, compliance, and settlement on their behalf.
3-D Secure (3DS)
3-D Secure (3DS) is an cardholder authentication protocol that adds a step-up challenge during online checkout so issuers can confirm the payer before authorizing high-risk transactions.
Chargeback
A chargeback is a forced reversal of a card transaction initiated by the cardholder through their issuer, usually citing fraud, non-delivery, or billing disputes, and debited from the merchant through the acquirer.
Interchange Fee
An interchange fee is a variable cost paid from the merchant acquirer to the card issuer for each card transaction, set by card networks and influenced by card type, region, and merchant category.
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Global card acquiring
Accept major card networks with routing, 3DS, and settlement built for cross-border sales.
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