Definition
An acquiring PSP (payment processor, acquirer-as-a-service) contracts with merchants to let them accept payments by card, transfer or wallet.
It runs the technical integration (terminal, web page, API, SDK), handles anti-fraud, 3DS2, routing and reporting, and then pays the merchant the proceeds of their sales after deducting the MDR. European leaders: Stripe, Adyen, Worldline, Mollie, Checkout.com.
Acquiring PSP vs regulated acquirer
- Regulated acquirer — the banking status (an EMI or a credit institution) that holds the scheme contract (Visa, Mastercard, CB) and receives the funds.
- Acquiring PSP — the commercial and technical layer that contracts with merchants. It may itself be a regulated acquirer (Adyen, Stripe) or rely on a third-party acquirer.
Stripe obtained its acquirer authorisation in Ireland in March 2019; before that, it went through partner acquirers.
The PayFac model
The Payment Facilitator aggregates many sub-merchants under a single scheme contract: the sub-merchant does not have to sign a direct contract, onboarding is instant, and the PayFac bears the KYB and fraud risk. This is the model of Stripe, Square, PayPal, Mollie and Adyen for Platforms — the one that let Shopify, Wix, Etsy and Uber onboard merchants in minutes.
What an acquiring PSP does
Beyond pure acquiring:
- a payment page (hosted or embedded), a mobile SDK, a terminal / SoftPOS;
- smart routing (choosing the optimal scheme and acquirer per transaction);
- tokenisation and a secure vault for MIT and subscriptions;
- 3DS2 orchestration and frictionless / challenge optimisation;
- proprietary anti-fraud (Stripe Radar, Adyen RevenueProtect);
- chargeback handling, reporting and reconciliation;
- multi-currency and local methods (iDEAL, Bancontact, BLIK, Pix);
- additional layers: card issuing, virtual accounts, payouts, BNPL.
Pricing models
- Blended: a single rate (Stripe France: 1.4% + €0.25 on EEA consumer cards) — simple and transparent.
- Interchange++: real interchange + scheme fees + a fixed acquirer fee — more optimal at volume, more complex (Adyen, Worldline).
- Negotiated key accounts: an MDR under 1% for very large merchants.
What an acquiring PSP is not
- Not a bank in the strict sense: it operates merchant payment accounts, not current accounts (except for a dedicated product such as Stripe Treasury).
- Not a scheme: it integrates Visa/MC/CB/Amex, without setting their rules.
- Not exclusive: a large merchant can combine several PSPs with an orchestrator on top.
- Not a wallet: Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal plug into its flow, not the other way around.
Within the PSD2 ecosystem
The acquiring PSP applies card SCA via 3DS2: it decides the risk scoring on the merchant side and requests (or not) SCA exemptions. Its ability to maximise frictionless flow without compromising security is a major competitive differentiator.
Real-world examples
- European leaders: Stripe (SaaS e-commerce), Adyen (omnichannel key accounts), Worldline/Ingenico (in-person + Europe), Mollie (mid-market), Checkout.com (e-commerce + crypto), Nexi, PayPal Braintree.
- Niche players: Lemonway, Mangopay, HiPay (marketplaces), Dalenys, Nepting (in-person), Trust Payments.
- Stripe: an authorised acquirer in Ireland, present in 47+ countries, with ~50 payment methods; 1.4% + €0.25 on EEA cards, 2.9% + €0.25 outside the EEA.
- Adyen: leader among very large merchants (Uber, Spotify, Microsoft, McDonald's, Airbnb), strong on omnichannel, with a "Single Platform" strategy.
- Worldline: FR and EU leader in the in-person space (terminals, retail, hospitality), in continuous consolidation (Ingenico, Bambora).
- AI: Stripe Radar (ML on hundreds of millions of transactions) claims a fraud capture rate above 95% with less than 1% false positives.
- Margin compression: competition on pure acquiring is pushing players towards value-added services (card issuing, embedded BNPL, virtual accounts, payouts) — an all-in-one model.
- PSR evolution: the text settled in April 2026 requires card schemes to be more transparent about their fees towards acquirers (art. 31a, provisional numbering). It will apply 21 months after its entry into force.