What Is An Acquirer In Credit Card Processing

Acquirers are the financial institutions that maintain a merchant's account in order to accept credit cards. The acquirer settles card transactions for a merchant into their account.

The Acquirer's Role in the Payment Processing Operation

When you process a transaction for customers who have come into your store location or submitted an order through your online store, the transactions are processed by banks and then relayed to payment processors.

Acquiring banks work on behalf of merchants to enable them to accept credit card payments. When a customer makes a purchase, the acquiring bank works with both the merchant and issuing bank to confirm that they can process payment for the transaction and make sure that there are enough funds available.

Acquiring banks are less visible to merchants and cardholders than issuing banks because they work behind the scenes while their partners (payment processors like Helcim) have direct contact with both. They provide a valuable service but don't often get any credit for it - which means that acquiring bank professionals can sometimes be more difficult to find!

Acquiring Bank vs. Payment Processor

Signing up with a payment processor can be an excellent way to make sure both your business and the cardholder are getting exactly what they want from their transaction. If you sign up with one, they will act as mediators between your business and those issuing banks who issue credit cards for all of this processing.

First Data, Bank of America, Global Payments, Elavon, and TD Canada Trust are some examples of acquiring banks. Some examples of payment processors include Square Helcim Moneris Stripe.

Do you want to learn more about the credit card payment process? Check out the rest of Processing Card’s resources today.