What Is an Acquiring Bank?

An acquiring bank is licensed by the card schemes to accept card transactions on your behalf, holds your merchant account, and settles the funds to your bank. It also carries the financial risk if you cannot refund your customers, which is why the acquirer, not the gateway, decides whether you are accepted.

What the acquirer is responsible for

Holding the merchant account (MID) and its scheme registration.
Underwriting your business: industry, model, financials and dispute history.
Settling funds, applying any reserve and setting payout timing.
Managing chargeback liability and scheme monitoring programmes.

Why acquirer appetite differs so much

An acquirer is exposed until your customer has received what they paid for. That exposure depends on your business model, delivery lag, refund behaviour and chargeback ratio, so two acquirers with the same licence can still reach opposite decisions on the same merchant.

Appetite is also set by policy: permitted MCCs, permitted countries, minimum monthly volume and maximum ticket size. These are usually hard filters rather than negotiable terms.

What acquirers commonly ask for

Company registration, ownership and KYC on directors and beneficial owners.
Processing history or statements, where they exist.
Chargeback and refund ratios for the last months of trading.
Website or app review: terms, pricing, refund policy and contact details.
Licences where the industry requires them.

What is a PSP?

A payment service provider is the company that connects your checkout to the card schemes and local payment methods, submits transactions for authorisation, and reports on them. Some PSPs also hold the acquiring licence; many route your transactions to a separate acquiring bank.

PSP vs acquirer

The PSP provides the technology and the commercial relationship; the acquirer holds the scheme licence, underwrites your business and settles your money. Many merchants need both, sometimes bundled by one provider, sometimes contracted separately.

What is a merchant account?

A merchant account is an account held with an acquiring bank that allows you to accept card payments and receive settlement. It is not a business bank account: funds pass through it, are netted against refunds, fees and any reserve, and are then paid out to your ordinary bank account.

Rolling reserve

A rolling reserve is a percentage of each settlement that your acquirer holds for a fixed period before releasing it. It exists to cover refunds and chargebacks the acquirer might otherwise have to fund, and it directly affects your working capital.

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