Acquirer
An acquirer is a financial institution that processes card payments on behalf of the Comerciante and transfers the transaction amount to the Comerciante account.
Acquirer
An acquirer (also acquiring bank or Comerciante bank) is a financial institution that handles the technical and financial processing of card payments on behalf of the Comerciante. The acquirer establishes the connection between the Comerciante and the card networks (Visa, Mastercard).
In the payment process, the acquirer receives the authorization request from the payment gateway, forwards it to the card network and receives the approval or rejection from the issuer (the cardholder's bank). After successful authorization, the acquirer ensures that the transaction amount — minus the interchange fee and its own fee — is transferred to the Comerciante's account.
In Switzerland, Worldline (formerly SIX Payment Services), Nexi/Concardis and various PSPs, among others, act as acquirers. Some payment providers like Payrexx bundle acquiring in their service so that Comerciantes do not need a separate acquirer contract.
Acquirer examples
An online shop concludes an acquiring contract in order to be able to accept Visa and Mastercard payments directly.
A PSP like Payrexx takes over acquiring as part of its all-in-one service — the Comerciante does not need a separate contract.
For a card payment in a shop, the acquirer forwards the transaction via the POS terminal to Visa or Mastercard.
Acquirer FAQ
What is an acquirer in payment processing?
An acquirer is a financial institution that processes card payments on behalf of the Comerciante. It establishes the connection to the card networks (Visa, Mastercard) and ensures that the transaction amount is transferred to the Comerciante account.
Do I as a Comerciante need my own acquirer contract?
Not necessarily. Many PSPs (Payment Service Providers) bundle acquiring into their service. In this case, you enter into a single contract with the PSP, which handles the acquiring for you.
What is the difference between an acquirer and an issuer?
The acquirer processes the payment on the Comerciante's side. The issuer is the bank that issued the card to the cardholder. For a card payment, the acquirer and issuer communicate with each other via the card network.
What fees does an acquirer charge?
The acquirer charges an acquirer margin (also known as Merchant Service Charge), which typically ranges between 0.20% and 0.50%. In addition, there is the interchange fee, which goes to the issuer, and the scheme fee, which goes to the card network.
Who are the largest acquirers in Switzerland?
The largest acquirers in Switzerland include Worldline (formerly SIX Payment Services), Nexi/Concardis and Adyen. In addition, PSPs such as Payrexx, Stripe and Datatrans offer integrated acquiring.
