A Deep Look at Acquiring Banks Across Europe in 2025
If you’re running a business in Europe or planning to expand, working with the right acquiring bank is essential. The acquiring space in Europe is dense with both global names and regional specialists, each offering different strengths across industries, currencies, and compliance requirements.
Below, we break down what acquiring banks do, why they’re important for merchants, and who the top players are across Europe in 2025.
What Is an Acquiring Bank?
An acquiring bank (or acquirer) is a financial institution that processes card payments for businesses. When a customer uses a credit or debit card, the acquiring bank routes the transaction to the card issuer, handles approvals, and ensures settlement into your merchant account.
Acquirers are a critical piece of the payment chain. In Europe, they also help merchants comply with complex local regulations like PSD2, SCA (Strong Customer Authentication), and GDPR. They may also be the sponsoring bank behind your merchant identification number (MID), especially for high-risk or cross-border merchants.
Why European Acquirers Matter
European acquirers offer unique advantages that go beyond basic payment processing:
- Multi-currency support: Many support EUR, GBP, CHF, and dozens of other currencies natively
- Improved authorization rates: Working with local or regional banks often reduces decline rates
- Access to alternative payment methods: Such as SEPA, iDEAL, Bancontact, and Klarna
- Local compliance expertise: Crucial for industries like healthcare, adult, gaming, or supplements
- Better fee structures: Especially when combined with local routing or merchant category code (MCC) optimization
Full List of European Acquiring Banks (2025)
Here’s a curated list of key acquiring banks currently active across Europe, including both global acquirers and country-specific processors:
- Worldpay
- Adyen
- Shift4
- Paysafe
- Rapyd
- Nuvei
- JPMorgan
- Nexi
- Clearhaus
- Swedbank
- BNP Paribas
- Elavon
- Worldline
- PXP Financial
- Crédit Agricole
- Barclays
- Société Générale
- Paystrax
- Truevo
- UniCredit
- Checkout.com
- emerchantpay
- Intergiro
- FENIGE
- Paynovate
- Cashflows
- Fiserv
- Viva Wallet
- Unlimit
- Xpate
- Global Payments
- EVO Payments
- PayU
- TrustPay
- iCard
- Dimoco Payments
- Market Pay
- DECTA
- Trust Payments
- PostFinance
- PayPal
- ZEN
- Lydia
- AIB
- Crédit Mutuel
- Card Complete
- PayPlug
- Paynetics
- Ecommpay
- Groupe BPCE
- Rabobank
- ING
- OTP Bank
- Raiffeisen Bank
- UNICRE
- ČSOB
- Getnet
- Millennium BCP
- Teya
- Europabank
- JCC Payment Systems
How to Choose the Right Acquiring Bank in Europe
Choosing the wrong acquirer can result in higher decline rates, funding delays, or regulatory issues. Here’s what to evaluate when selecting an acquirer for your European business:
1. Industry Risk Level
Certain acquirers are more friendly to high-risk verticals like nutraceuticals, adult, gaming, and telemedicine. Others avoid these sectors entirely. Know your risk profile.
2. Licensing and Coverage
Look for acquirers with licenses in the countries where you operate. Some specialize in EU markets, while others also serve the UK, Switzerland, or EEA nations.
3. Supported Payment Methods
Ensure your acquirer can support the local payment methods your customers expect (e.g. iDEAL in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, etc.).
4. Fee Transparency
Evaluate markups on interchange, chargeback fees, and reserve requirements. These can vary drastically.
5. Fraud Prevention and Chargeback Tools
Does the acquirer offer 3DS2, fraud scoring, or tools like CB Alert and Order Insight? These are essential in 2025 to reduce disputes and friendly fraud.
6. Settlement Timing and Currency Support
Ask about funding timelines and currency conversion rates. Delayed settlements can hurt cash flow, especially for subscription-based models.
How Corepay Supports Merchants Working with European Acquirers
At Corepay, we help merchants find the right acquiring relationships in Europe and beyond with our extensive banking relationships. Whether you’re looking to enter the EU market, are recovering from a terminated account, or are simply trying to improve approval rates, we can help.
We provide:
- Direct merchant account placement with top European banks
- A proprietary gateway built for high-risk processing
- Chargeback prevention and dispute monitoring
- Help with LegitScript approval for healthcare or telemedicine merchants
- Faster onboarding and expert support for MCC issues and compliance
We actively work with acquiring banks on the list above and offer both single and multi-acquirer setups depending on your business model.
Final Thoughts
The acquiring process in Europe is complex, but businesses that choose the right bank are rewarded with higher approval rates, faster settlements, and better compliance. Whether you’re accepting payments in one country or across multiple EU markets, working with the right partner is key.
If you’re unsure where to start or have been dropped by your current acquirer, Corepay is here to help you get back online quickly and safely.
