Acquiring Bank

An acquiring bank (or acquirer) is the financial institution that provides merchants with the ability to accept card payments. The acquirer maintains the merchant account, receives settlement funds from card networks, and forwards them to the merchant after deducting fees. The acquirer also bears the financial risk of fraud and chargebacks from the merchant's transactions.

Because acquirers are ultimately liable for fraud originating through their merchants, they conduct due diligence on merchants they onboard and monitor transaction patterns for fraud signals. High-risk merchants (adult content, gambling, travel) face stricter scrutiny and higher fees.

Consumers rarely interact with the acquirer directly, but knowing it exists explains why merchants fight back in chargeback disputes — the acquirer charges merchants a fee for each chargeback, and excessive chargeback rates can cause merchants to lose their card acceptance privileges.