In 2021, bank cards have become the most popular means of payment in the world. It is getting harder to do business without acquiring, so in this article, we’re going to discuss how it works, who is involved in the process, and what needs to be done to get it up and running.
Acquiring is a banking service that allows customers to pay for goods and services with debit and credit payment cards.
“According to international analytical companies, 54% of all transactions in 2020 were conducted in a non-cash form.”
Acquiring is available to any type of business willing to accept payment cards: organizations, individuals, entrepreneurs, and self-employed citizens. However, there are different types of acquirer services, and which one suits your business depends on where the transactions take place: at a point of sale, online, in an app, or all of the above.
Depending on the target market and the needs of a company, users can choose one of three types of services offered by a merchant acquirer:
ATM acquiring (or exchange acquiring) is also distinguished. It denotes payment through self-service devices such as ATMs. This is an independent type of acquiring that is not required for most businesses.
Offline (trade) acquiring implies POS terminal installation at the point of sale. A POS terminal is a hardware system for processing credit card payments at retail locations, with the help of which the required amount is debited from the client's card or, conversely, the funds are refunded.
This service is ideal for merchants if their business involves active movement and they need to process credit card payments in different places (taxi, pizza delivery, or courier services). For mobile acquiring, compact mPOS terminals are used for card payments. They are easy to take with you. Such equipment can be easily controlled via mobile devices using an application. The payment principle, in this case, is the same as for trading POS credit card terminals.
“Mobile acquiring is the least secure method of accepting payments. In this regard, banks can limit the number of purchases via this type.”
This service of the bank provides a possibility to make payments for goods and services in online stores by credit card or e-money, using the systems of electronic payments. It is not necessary to purchase a real terminal.
Nowadays, online payments are totally secure. To minimize the risk of fraud for cardholders, the payment processing algorithm features a possibility of a simplified cancellation (Chargeback) implemented into the online payment procedure. In many cases, the cardholder can simply call their issuing bank and tell them that the goods have not been delivered or the service has not been provided properly.
3D Secure may require customers to go through an additional verification process with the card issuer when paying. This verifies that the transaction is not fraudulent and the cardholder’s sensitive data is not at risk.
Typically, you direct the customer to an authentication page on their bank’s website, and they enter a password associated with the credit card or a code sent to their phone to complete the payment process.
The acquiring system in its simplest form includes several participants:
The scheme of operation of this system is as follows:
In practice, the whole transaction process takes a matter of seconds.
The acquiring process simplifies business due to its undeniable advantages:
The disadvantages of cashless payments include:
Today, almost every banking organization offers acquiring among its services for merchants. But the fact is that not all banking organizations provide the same equipment and prescribe equal conditions. Thus, there are several criteria to be taken into account when picking a merchant acquirer:
“Important! The bank will take a certain percentage from each transaction made through the credit card terminal. In the case of trading acquiring, it varies from bank to bank and can be as high as 2.5%.”
Before you start accepting credit card transactions, you must open a current account to which sales revenue will be credited. After completing the process, follow these steps:
Generally, acquiring can be connected directly via the bank, but this is not always convenient and profitable. In such cases, you can contact a merchant service provider that will help connect acquiring in the necessary banks, offer additional options for managing and controlling traffic.
We are a platform that allows customers to quickly and easily get connected to bank acquiring and start processing the credit card transaction flow. We provide a whole range of effective technical solutions for our clients, namely:
For a company, being linked with a merchant acquirer means an increase in revenue and an influx of new customers. If you want to develop your business, it is important that both cash and non-cash payments are available at points of sale. We will be your safe and effective solution for setting well-functioning acquiring.
Yes, you can connect several types of acquiring at once if you provide different kinds of services. For example, trading and mobile ones.
When activating the acquiring service, all payments received from customers’ cards must be credited somewhere. To do this, you need to open a current bank account. Thus, to arrange acquiring and cooperate with the bank without breaking the rules, you will need the current account.
It is possible only in a number of legislatively prescribed cases, including:
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