Find the Right Payment Service Provider (PSP)

A PSP connects your checkout to the card schemes and local payment methods, and handles tokenisation, routing, fraud tooling and reporting. Which PSP suits you depends on your markets, your billing model and the acquirer behind the offer.

What a PSP is responsible for

Checkout: hosted page, drop-in components or full API.
Tokenisation and stored credentials for repeat or recurring billing.
Routing transactions to an acquirer or scheme for authorisation.
3-D Secure, exemptions and fraud screening rules.
Refunds, dispute notifications and reconciliation reporting.
Local payment methods and multi-currency processing.

A pure PSP does not underwrite you. Where the licence sits with a separate acquiring bank, that bank decides acceptance, limits and reserves, see what a PSP is for the full breakdown.

PSP, gateway or payment facilitator?

Gateway

Transmits transactions only. No settlement, no underwriting, you still need an acquirer.

Payment facilitator

Onboards you as a sub-merchant under its master account. Fast to start, but acceptance can be withdrawn quickly if your profile changes.

PSP with own acquiring

One contract covering technology and licence. Simpler to run, but it concentrates both checkout and settlement in one relationship.

What to ask a PSP before you integrate

Does the acquirer behind you accept my MCC, countries and volume in writing?
What is your authorisation rate in my top three markets?
Which local payment methods are live in those markets?
Which currencies can you process and settle in, and at what FX margin?
How are chargebacks reported, and what are the fees?
Can stored card credentials be migrated out if we change provider?

PSP requirements differ by industry

iGaming

iGaming acceptance is decided almost entirely by licensing and player geography. Providers that support a Malta or Curaçao licensed operator are rarely the same ones that support a UK or Ontario facing brand.

Forex & CFD

Trading platforms are underwritten on regulatory status and client geography. A regulated brokerage in a recognised jurisdiction has a materially different provider pool than an offshore entity taking retail clients worldwide.

Crypto

Crypto acceptance depends on what the customer receives. On-ramps selling digital assets, custodial exchanges and crypto-adjacent SaaS are underwritten as three different risk profiles.

Adult

Adult businesses are processed under specific card-scheme programmes with mandatory content controls. Approval depends on documented compliance far more than on pricing negotiation.

Nutraceuticals

Supplement acceptance turns on marketing claims and billing model. A straightforward one-off retail catalogue is a very different case from a free-trial-to-continuity offer.

Subscriptions

For recurring billing the provider decision is mostly about retry logic, card-lifecycle tooling and authentication, those three drive more revenue than the headline processing rate.

Complex models usually need providers with a stated appetite, see high-risk payment processing or compare payment processors.

Which PSP fits your business?

Share your business essentials once and see which payment service providers accept your profile before you start an application.

See suitable providers

Nothing is shared with a provider until you submit your onboarding pack. Approval is always the provider's decision.