Written by Modulr | Jul 24, 2025 11:00:00 PM
An acquiring bank (or Merchant Acquirer) is the financial institution within a card payment process that processes payments on behalf of merchants, enabling them to accept credit and debit card transactions and ultimately acquire the funds from the transaction. Acquirers facilitate payment authorisation, clearing, and settlement between businesses and card networks, connecting merchants to card networks like Visa and Mastercard. Acquirers facilitate transactions and may charge processing fees, but as a rule, interchange fees are set by schemes. With the rise of alternative payment solutions, acquiring bank services face increasing competition from Open Banking alternatives to card payments.