Acquirer (Acquiring Bank)

The merchant’s bank that helps you accept card payments and settle the money into your account.

An acquirer is like the merchant’s backstage crew in the payment show. Once the customer taps their card, the acquirer steps in to route the transaction to the right card network (like Visa or Mastercard) and ultimately to the customer’s bank (the issuer). If it gets approved, the acquirer is the one that actually receives the funds and deposits them (minus fees) into the merchant’s account.

They’re also the ones who shoulder some of the fraud risk, manage compliance, and ensure settlement happens correctly. Without an acquirer, you can’t take cards at all. Companies like Adyen and legacy names like First Data play this role behind the scenes. If the gateway is the toll booth, the acquirer is the operations team keeping the roads working and making sure the money shows up in the right account.