Approvals & UnderwritingAlso: Acquiring Bank

Acquirer

The bank that holds a merchant account and enables the business to accept card payments, ultimately depositing settled funds. The acquirer carries the risk if a merchant cannot cover its chargebacks, which is why underwriting exists.

Merchants rarely interact with the acquirer directly; a payments provider manages that relationship on their behalf. What matters to a merchant is that the underlying banking relationship is stable and suited to their category.

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Related terms

Approvals & Underwriting

Payment Processor

The company that moves a transaction between the customer's bank, the card networks, and the merchant's acquirer — handling authorization, clearing, and settlement. The processor is the engine that turns a card swipe or checkout into deposited funds.

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Approvals & Underwriting

Payment Gateway

The technology that securely captures payment details at checkout and passes them to the processor for authorization. The gateway is what your customer interacts with online — it encrypts card data and returns an approved or declined response.

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Approvals & Underwriting

Underwriting

The review process a provider uses to decide whether to approve a merchant and on what terms. Underwriters assess the business model, documentation, processing history, and risk exposure to set approval, pricing, limits, and any reserve requirements.

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Payments & Settlement

Settlement

The process of moving funds from captured transactions through the networks to the merchant's account, usually in daily batches. Settlement is when a sale actually becomes money you can spend, minus fees and any reserve.

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