Issuing and acquiring — the two sides of a card payment, and where BazPay fits.
Issuing and acquiring are the two roles that make every card payment work. The issuing side is the shopper's bank. The acquiring side is the merchant's bank. BazPay is a direct regional acquirer for merchants; it is not a card issuer. This page explains how the two sides fit together and what a merchant actually gets from a direct acquiring partner.
Built for EU, UK and Commonwealth e-commerce sellers, subscription software firms and professional-services businesses. If you need card issuing (branded card, corporate programme, in-app wallet), pair BazPay's acquiring with a dedicated issuer of your choice.
Why a direct acquirer beats a bundled \"issuing and acquiring\" vendor
Vendors that market themselves as combined issuing and acquiring providers rarely do both well. A focused acquirer, paired where needed with a focused issuer, is the pattern merchants across the EU, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand keep landing on.
-
Clear separation of concerns
Issuing is the shopper's side — the bank that issues the card and authorises transactions on their behalf. Acquiring is the merchant's side — the licensed entity that presents transactions to the schemes and settles the merchant. BazPay is on the acquiring side, and only the acquiring side.
-
Direct regional acquiring, no reseller in between
You contract with BazPay as the acquiring party for your regional book. There is no aggregator sitting between you and the schemes; your merchant identifier is named to your legal entity and settlement lands in your own local settlement account.
-
Interchange++ transparency across the two sides
Interchange fees flow from the acquirer to the issuer under the scheme rules. Interchange++ reporting on BazPay breaks out the fee your acquirer paid, the scheme fee it added and the BazPay margin — so you see exactly what each side of the transaction cost.
-
No card-issuing scope creep
BazPay is intentionally out of card-issuing. Merchants that need issuing (their own branded consumer card, corporate card programme or in-app wallet) pair BazPay's acquiring with a dedicated issuer of their choice. Two focused vendors are better than one that half-does both.
The four parties in every card payment
A card payment moves between four parties: the issuer, the scheme, the acquirer and the gateway. BazPay is the acquirer + gateway on your side. Everything else is either the shopper's bank or the scheme rulebook.
-
Issuer side
Issuer (shopper's bank)
The bank that issued the shopper's card. It authorises or declines the transaction on the shopper's behalf, applies 3-D Secure 2 challenges when required, and settles funds to the acquirer through the card scheme. Cardholder-dispute rights and card programme features sit here — this is the side BazPay does not operate.
- Authorises the payment
- Runs 3-D Secure 2 challenge
- Holds cardholder relationship
-
Card scheme
Scheme (Visa, Mastercard, CB, eftpos)
The network that carries the authorisation and clearing messages between the issuer and the acquirer, applies interchange and scheme fees, and enforces the rulebooks both sides follow. BazPay is a direct member on the acquiring side for the schemes it supports.
- Message routing
- Interchange rules
- Rulebook enforcement
-
Acquirer side
Acquirer (merchant's bank / BazPay)
The licensed entity that presents the merchant's transactions to the schemes, receives the settled funds and pays the merchant. BazPay is a direct acquirer on its own regional licence for merchants in scope.
- Presents transactions
- Named MID
- Settles the merchant
-
Gateway
Gateway (BazPay software layer)
The software that carries authorisation messages between the merchant's checkout and the acquirer, tokenises card data, runs the fraud engine and emits signed webhooks. On BazPay the gateway and the acquirer are the same entity — one contract covers both.
- Hosted fields
- Vault
- Signed webhooks
Deep dive on the acquiring side on merchant acquiring. The gateway software layer on network payment gateway. Where the 3-D Secure 2 handshake between issuer and acquirer sits on secure payment services, and the wider platform security posture on secure online payment systems.
How a payment flows across the two sides
Six stages describe the round trip from checkout to settled funds. The issuer is the party that says yes or no. The acquirer is the party that presents the request and settles the result.
-
Shopper pays
The shopper enters card details on your checkout. Hosted fields keep raw PAN inside BazPay's PCI environment.
-
Gateway → acquirer
BazPay's gateway posts the authorisation request to the acquiring processor (also BazPay, on our own regional licence).
-
Acquirer → scheme
The acquirer sends the request to the card scheme (Visa, Mastercard, CB, eftpos) for routing to the issuer.
-
Issuer decides
The shopper's issuing bank authorises or declines. 3-D Secure 2 challenges run on the issuer side when the risk earns it.
-
Response returns
The decision travels back — issuer → scheme → acquirer → BazPay's gateway — and the merchant sees a canonical charge object.
-
Settlement + fees
Funds clear on the scheme cycle. Interchange (to the issuer) and scheme fees appear as separate lines on your interchange++ statement.
Acquirer vs issuer, side by side
The two roles are complementary, not interchangeable. The comparison below shows what each side does and reminds you which side BazPay operates.
| Dimension | Acquirer | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
| Party role | Merchant's bank | Shopper's bank |
| Presents to scheme | Yes — acquirer presents each transaction | No — issuer receives the request |
| Decision to approve | No — passes request through | Yes — issuer authorises or declines |
| 3-D Secure challenge host | Requests 3-D Secure 2 when rules apply | Runs the actual challenge with the cardholder |
| Chargeback origin | Receives chargeback from scheme | Files chargeback on cardholder's behalf |
| BazPay's position | BazPay is the direct regional acquirer | BazPay is not an issuer |
Where BazPay fits: direct acquirer for merchants across the EU, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, with reporting and rate detail on the pricing page and the buyer's shortlist on payment processors.
What the acquiring side of the platform gives you
The features below are what BazPay actually ships on the acquiring side of the payment. They are the primitives that make a card acceptance integration production ready.
-
Named merchant identifier
Your own MID with the schemes. Chargeback ratios, decline data and settlement reporting attributed to your entity, not diluted across an aggregator's pool.
-
Interchange++ reporting
Interchange (to the issuer), scheme fees and gateway margin split per settled transaction — the two sides of the cost fully visible.
-
Hosted fields + vault
Card data lives inside BazPay's PCI DSS Level 1 environment; your annual return stays at merchant SAQ A.
-
3-D Secure 2.2 orchestration
The acquiring side requests 3-D Secure under PSD2; the issuer runs the actual authentication. BazPay's exemption logic keeps most checkouts frictionless.
-
Network tokens
Visa and Mastercard network tokens replace the PAN at storage time and refresh automatically after a card reissue on the issuer side.
-
Signed webhooks
HMAC-signed, replay-protected events on every state change — one signature scheme across every rail BazPay's acquiring covers.
-
Dispute defence
Chargebacks arrive from the issuer through the scheme; BazPay pre-assembles the evidence packet with the 3-D Secure result and charge metadata.
-
SEPA Instant settlement
Once the acquirer settles from the scheme, funds land in your local settlement account through SEPA Instant. SEPA Instant is used for payouts on approved corridors.
The merchant-side API is always the acquiring API
You never talk to the issuer directly. You talk to BazPay's gateway, BazPay's gateway talks to the acquirer (also BazPay), the acquirer talks to the scheme, and the scheme reaches the issuer. All you touch is the charge object and the signed webhook stream.
POST /v1/charges
Idempotency-Key: 8f1c-2b3a-9e4d
{
"amount": 4990,
"currency": "EUR",
"payment_method": "card",
"capture": "auto",
"three_d_secure": "required_if_needed",
"metadata": { "order_id": "ORD-10842" }
}The response returns a canonical charge object with the acquiring-side authorisation code, the network the issuer sits on and any exemption applied. Full schema in the API reference.
Merchants on BazPay's acquiring side
Four merchant profiles sit inside BazPay's regional underwriting. Each uses the acquiring side of the platform against issuers all over the world through the card schemes.
-
E-commerce sellers
Merchants running regional storefronts who need direct acquiring for card acceptance — a named MID, cleaner chargeback attribution and interchange++ reporting on every settled order.
-
Subscription software
SaaS teams whose renewals depend on the issuer honouring stored credentials with MIT exemptions and network-token refresh after card reissue.
-
Professional services
Agencies and B2B service firms invoicing higher-ticket amounts, where issuer-run 3-D Secure 2 protects the merchant with a liability shift on qualifying flows.
-
Digital publishers
Membership and paywall businesses that need clean chargeback attribution on small-ticket, high-volume card charges reconciled per SKU.
Out of scope for BazPay's acquiring: adult, gambling, CBD, nutraceutical, forex, CFD, crypto-exchange, debt-collection and MLM. BazPay is not a merchant of record and does not act as a card issuer.
Compliance signals on the acquiring side
Card handling runs inside a PCI DSS Level 1 environment assessed each year. Hosted fields and gateway-side vaulting keep your annual return at merchant SAQ A. Authentication is requested by the acquirer and executed by the issuer through 3-D Secure 2.2 — BazPay's exemption engine claims TRA, low-value, trusted-beneficiary and MIT where the rules allow.
- PCI DSS Level 1
- Annual assessment on the acquiring and gateway environment
- Merchant SAQ A
- Hosted fields and gateway vault keep card data out of your stack
- Authentication
- Acquiring-side request; issuer-side authentication under 3-D Secure 2.2
- GDPR
- In-region data residency; DPA on request
- Scheme registrations
- Visa VIRP and Mastercard SPoC/PCI-CP registered where required
Questions merchants ask about issuing and acquiring
What is the difference between issuing and acquiring?
Issuing is the shopper's side of a card payment — the bank that issues the card, holds the cardholder relationship, and authorises or declines each transaction. Acquiring is the merchant's side — the licensed entity that presents transactions to the schemes, receives settled funds and pays the merchant. Every card payment involves both sides. BazPay is a direct acquirer on the regional side; it is not an issuer.
Does BazPay operate as an issuing and acquiring bank?
No. BazPay is not a bank and does not run an issuing programme. BazPay is a direct regional acquirer and payment gateway operated by NEWERA PAYMENT TECHNOLOGIES LTD. Merchants that also need issuing (their own branded card, corporate card programme or in-app wallet) pair BazPay's acquiring with a dedicated card-issuing partner.
Can BazPay run card issuing and acquiring under one contract?
No. Card issuing and acquiring are separate scopes with separate scheme rules, sponsor relationships and compliance obligations. BazPay's contract covers the acquiring side. Merchants who require both should treat them as two vendor relationships — most modern setups do so anyway to keep each side focused and auditable.
How do issuing payment processing and acquiring processing interact?
Issuing payment processing runs on the issuer's infrastructure to authorise, decline and clear transactions on behalf of the cardholder. Acquiring processing runs on the acquirer's infrastructure to present transactions, receive scheme settlement and pay the merchant. The two sides speak through the card scheme networks under standardised message formats. BazPay's platform covers the acquiring processing end — the merchant's side.
What terms like "acquiring e issuing" or "issuing e acquiring" mean in different regional markets?
In some in-region estates the phrase acquiring e issuing (or issuing e acquiring) is used to describe the pair of roles that make a card payment work. The meaning is the same as in English: acquiring = merchant's side, issuing = shopper's side. BazPay is on the acquiring side for the regional book.
How does 3-D Secure 2 involve both issuing and acquiring?
The acquirer (BazPay, on your side) requests strong customer authentication under PSD2 when the risk earns it. The issuer (the shopper's bank) actually runs the challenge with the cardholder — through their banking app or an SMS-backed flow — and returns the result. BazPay's exemption engine claims TRA, low-value, trusted-beneficiary and MIT exemptions where the rules allow, so most checkouts stay frictionless.
How are chargebacks split between issuing and acquiring?
The cardholder disputes the charge with their issuer. The issuer files a chargeback through the scheme, which arrives at the acquirer as a scheme dispute event. BazPay surfaces the chargeback in the dashboard and by signed webhook, pre-assembles the evidence packet with the 3-D Secure result and charge metadata, and submits the defence to the scheme on your behalf.
Which merchant types can board on the acquiring side of BazPay?
Merchants across the EU, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand: e-commerce sellers, subscription software firms, professional-services businesses and digital publishers. BazPay does not board adult, gambling, CBD, nutraceutical, forex, CFD, crypto-exchange, debt-collection or MLM merchants, and does not act as a merchant of record.
Contract directly with a regional acquirer, keep issuing separate
Share your business model and monthly volume; a named engineer will confirm boarding fit on the acquiring side inside one working day. See also merchant acquiring, payment processors, payment acceptance and pricing.