Merchant Acquiring Market Report 2025

This Merchant Acquiring market report provides a comprehensive analysis of the market’s characteristics, size, and growth, including segmentation, regional and country-level breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends, and strategies. It also tracks historical and forecasted market growth across various geographies.

The merchant acquiring market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $25.43 billion in 2024 to $28.2 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to increasing demand for cross-border e-commerce, growth of peer-to-peer (p2p) payment systems, growth of digital banking and fintech innovations, growth of e-commerce, and rise in demand for cash alternatives.

The merchant acquiring market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $42.16 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to the increasing use of smartphones and mobile payments, rising adoption of contactless payments, increasing demand for digital payments, rising need for secure and fraud-resistant payment solutions, and growing investment in payment technology. Major trends in the forecast period include technological advancements, integration of AI, subscription-based models, digital currencies, and contactless wearables.

The growing demand for digital payments is expected to drive the expansion of the merchant acquiring market. Digital payments involve the electronic transfer of funds between parties using digital technologies, eliminating the need for physical cash or checks. This rising demand for digital payments is fueled by several factors, including the growth of e-commerce, the increasing use of contactless payment methods, and the widespread availability of internet access. In merchant acquiring, digital payments streamline transactions, reduce the need for cash handling, and improve payment security, thereby increasing business efficiency. For example, in September 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that American consumers spent $65.2 billion at retail establishments using Google Pay in 2022, up from $24.8 billion in 2021. Consequently, the increasing demand for digital payments is driving the growth of the merchant acquiring market.

Leading companies in the merchant acquiring sector are focusing on strategic partnerships to strengthen their market position. These partnerships typically involve collaborations between financial institutions, payment processors, and technology providers to enhance payment solutions and broaden market reach. For instance, in July 2024, Shift4 Payments, Inc., a U.S.-based payment processing company, partnered with Phos, a Bulgaria-based software firm, to enhance Phos' acquiring capabilities and promote the adoption of its SoftPOS solution among European merchant customers. This collaboration allows Phos customers to leverage Shift4's global acquiring and payment processing services, enabling them to accept payments through global card networks and digital wallets.

In February 2024, GTCR LLC, a U.S.-based private equity firm, acquired a majority stake in the Worldpay Merchant Solutions business from FIS for $18.5 billion. This acquisition is intended to position GTCR to capitalize on the significant growth potential and value creation opportunities in the rapidly evolving merchant acquiring market, setting the company up for long-term success. Worldpay Merchant Solutions is a U.S.-based payments technology and solutions provider specializing in merchant acquiring.

Major companies operating in the merchant acquiring market are Commercial and Industrial Bank of China, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Merchant Services, Citi Merchant Services, American Express Company, ING Groep N.V., Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., Fiserv Inc., Fidelity National Information Services Inc., Global Payments Inc., Sberbank, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Shift4 Payments Inc., Worldpay Group plc, Heartland Payment Systems Inc., Adyen N.V., Paysafe Group, Elavon Inc., Crédit Agricole S.A., Zettle by PayPal, Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC, PayCommerce Inc.

North America was the largest region in the merchant acquiring market in 2023. The regions covered in the merchant acquiring market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the merchant acquiring market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

Merchant acquiring refers to the process by which financial institutions, known as acquiring banks or acquirers, offer services to merchants that enable them to accept card payments. This process includes establishing the necessary infrastructure for processing credit and debit card transactions, such as point-of-sale (POS) systems and payment gateways. Acquirers are responsible for transaction processing, settlement, and risk management, ensuring that merchants receive funds from card transactions in a timely and secure manner.

The primary types of merchant acquiring are digital commerce and traditional commerce. Digital commerce involves transactions conducted online using electronic devices. Payment methods include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Japan Credit Bureau, local card networks, alternative payment models, and various sales channels, including direct and distribution channels. This type of acquiring is used across different applications, including small and medium enterprises, large enterprises, and others.

The merchant acquiring market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides merchant acquiring market statistics, including merchant acquiring industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a merchant acquiring market share, detailed merchant acquiring market segments, market trends, and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the merchant acquiring industry. This merchant acquiring market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

The merchant acquiring market includes revenues earned by entities by providing services such as merchant account setup, integration services, and payment processing. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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