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How to Expand Acquirer Processing Business Into New Markets

This article details proven strategies for expanding acquirer processing into new markets, covering regulatory compliance, licensing, market entry methods, localization, and risk management.

June 19, 2025
How to Expand Acquirer Processing Business Into New Markets

The global merchant acquiring market presents significant opportunities for expansion, with the market projected to grow from $25.43 billion in 2024 to $28.2 billion in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9%. The payment processing solutions market is expected to reach $233.1 billion by 2035, growing at a CAGR of 11.00%. For acquiring banks, PSPs, ISOs, and FinTech startups, this growth creates compelling opportunities for international expansion into new markets.

Timeline diagram showing steps to expand acquirer payment processing into new markets

Market Research and Analysis

Market research and analysis for white-label payment gateways identifies new opportunities, assesses regional regulations, and evaluates the competitive landscape. A strategic approach to market assessment supports successful payment gateway expansion and growth.

Geographic Market Assessment

Geographic market assessment is the process of evaluating specific countries or regions to determine their suitability for acquirer processing expansion. This step comes first because each market has unique economic conditions, payment behaviors, digital adoption rates, and regulatory environments.

By starting with geographic market assessment, companies can prioritize markets that align with their business goals, risk tolerance, and operational capabilities. This focused approach maximizes ROI and reduces potential entry risks.

Competitive Landscape Analysis

Market share mapping for incumbent acquirers and PSPs clarifies where barriers to entry are highest and where pricing competition is most intense. Analyze local players’ client portfolios, settlement speeds, acceptance rates for alternative payment methods, and relationship depth with ISOs and retail banks. Review recent M&A, new tech deployments, and changes in fee structure to spot market shifts.

Prioritize market segments where leading providers have low penetration or legacy technology. Identify regional partners and referral channels with proven conversion for merchant acquisition. Use this intelligence to position your offering, either through price leadership, specialized payment flows, or bundled value-adds.

Regulatory Compliance and Licensing

Securing the right licenses and meeting all regulatory obligations are fundamental to successful acquirer processing expansion. Regulatory compliance shapes your go-to-market timeline, operational flexibility, and long-term reputation in every new payment market. Each region presents unique legal, financial, and technical requirements that acquirers, PSPs, ISOs, and FinTechs must address from the start.

Core Licensing and Compliance Steps

A clear licensing roadmap ensures your acquiring operations can scale internationally without legal disruption. Most jurisdictions require:

  • Card Network Licensing: Essential for direct access to major payment schemes like Visa and Mastercard. The process typically takes 3 to 6 months, involving comprehensive financial audits and documentation.
  • AML and KYC Compliance: Mandatory for onboarding merchants and monitoring transactions. Jurisdictions differ in their approach, so local policy customization is often necessary.
  • PCI DSS and Data Security: Full compliance is required for all cardholder data handling. Secure storage, encryption, and regular penetration testing are standard requirements for payment processors and acquiring banks.

Specialized Licensing Options

Some market segments and business models demand further regulatory approval:

  • Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License: Needed for digital wallet services, stored value, and issuing e-money. This license often involves minimum capital requirements and regular regulatory reporting.
  • Payment Scheme Licensing: Decide between direct scheme membership or sponsored access, balancing speed-to-market with ongoing costs and operational control.

Regional Regulatory Considerations

Payment regulations and licensing requirements vary greatly:

  • Asia-Pacific: Expect significant complexity and frequent updates. For example, China requires direct licensing from the People’s Bank of China, and Singapore enforces strict MAS standards.
  • Europe: PSD2 and GDPR shape payment processing rules, mandating strong customer authentication, data privacy, and API-based integrations.
  • Cross-Border Markets: Both source and destination country rules apply, including foreign exchange controls, anti-money laundering, and sanctions compliance.

Actionable Expansion Tips

  • Build a detailed licensing and compliance matrix for every target country before launch.
  • Retain local legal and compliance advisors early to streamline approvals and avoid regulatory surprises.
  • Submit license applications in parallel where possible to shorten time-to-market.
  • Where direct licensing is slow or costly, consider white-label partnerships or interim solutions to gain early market traction.

Market Entry Strategies

Choosing the right market entry strategy directly impacts your speed, cost, and flexibility when launching acquirer processing in new regions. Each approach carries distinct risks and opportunities, so aligning your expansion method with your business model and market realities is essential for long-term growth.

Direct Investment / Greenfield

A greenfield investment strategy involves building new infrastructure and operations from the ground up in your target market. This method gives acquirers total control over technology, compliance, and merchant onboarding processes. Greenfield entry works best in markets with minimal competition, clear regulatory frameworks, or where customized local infrastructure is required.

Key points:

  • Full control over payment processing infrastructure and local team.
  • Longest time-to-market and highest capital expenditure among entry models.
  • Greater ability to tailor solutions to local merchant needs and regulatory requirements.
  • Suited for markets with high growth potential and long-term strategic importance.

Strategic Partnerships

Forming partnerships with local players accelerates market entry and provides access to established merchant networks, local expertise, and regulatory guidance. Strategic partnerships reduce market entry risk and can be structured through joint ventures, reseller agreements, or shared technology platforms.

Key points:

  • Faster market penetration with reduced upfront investment.
  • Leverage partner's existing licenses, sales channels, and relationships.
  • Opportunity to co-develop or localize payment products for market fit.
  • Ideal for markets with complex regulatory environments or cultural barriers.

Acquisitions

Acquiring an established PSP, ISO, or local acquirer offers immediate access to merchant portfolios, technology platforms, and regulatory compliance status. M&A strategies are effective for entering mature markets or consolidating fragmented regions.

Key points:

  • Rapid access to customers, processing volume, and in-market talent.
  • Pre-existing local infrastructure, licenses, and compliance frameworks.
  • Potential integration challenges and higher upfront costs.
  • Enables immediate competitive positioning against incumbents.

Partnership Development

Robust partner networks are critical for scaling acquiring operations. Develop relationships with independent sales organizations (ISOs), software providers, ecommerce platforms, and banks to broaden your reach and increase merchant acquisition rates.

Key points:

  • Unlocks new sales channels and access to niche market segments.
  • Facilitates technology integration and value-added services.
  • Strengthens local compliance posture and supports risk management.
  • Continuous partner evaluation ensures alignment with business goals and evolving market conditions.

A data-driven approach to market entry strategy selection allows acquirers and PSPs to optimize resource allocation and maximize returns across international markets. Each entry model should be matched to local market maturity, regulatory complexity, and organizational strengths.

Localization and Customer Experience

Localization and customer experience are essential for acquirer processing business expansion into new markets. Optimizing localization and customer experience ensures your payment solutions meet local market needs and drive adoption. Delivering regionally relevant, seamless payment experiences is a key differentiator for acquirer processing companies entering new geographies.

Payment Method Integration

Local payment method integration is fundamental for merchant adoption and retention. Each region has its own preferred payment instruments, ranging from credit cards and debit schemes to e-wallets, domestic bank transfers, and emerging options like QR payments or Buy Now Pay Later. Expanding acquirer processing internationally means proactively supporting these regional payment methods from day one.

Effective integration not only broadens the addressable merchant base but also reduces transaction friction and abandonment rates. Leading acquirers prioritize local payment acceptance within their onboarding, API architecture, and risk management workflows. The ability to rapidly connect with new payment rails, super apps, and popular local wallets is often a key differentiator in competitive markets.

Currency and Language Support

Multi-currency processing and language localization are core components of a positive merchant and customer experience. Providing merchants with settlement and pricing in local currencies helps minimize foreign exchange costs and supports more predictable cash flow.

Acquirer platforms that offer multi-language dashboards, localized support, and customer-facing communications lower the barriers for both merchants and their end users. Adapting checkout flows and support channels to reflect regional language preferences signals a genuine commitment to the market and is often critical for scaling in non-English-speaking geographies.

Localization efforts should be closely coordinated with product, compliance, and risk teams to ensure regulatory alignment and deliver a consistent experience across all channels.

Operational Implementation

Operational implementation is critical for acquirer processing business expansion into new markets. Well-executed operational implementation ensures your acquiring platform meets market expectations for reliability, compliance, and scalability, which are key for successful payment processing expansion.

Technical Infrastructure

Technical infrastructure is at the core of successful acquirer processing expansion. When entering new payment markets, acquirers must invest in high-availability, cloud-based systems that can scale with transaction volumes and respond to regional peaks in activity. An API-first approach enables quick integration with local banks and payment schemes, supporting a wide variety of merchant needs and accelerating time to market.

Data security and compliance are central to operational implementation. Payment platforms must meet all local data residency and security standards, ensuring compliance with evolving regulatory requirements. Real-time system monitoring and automated incident response reduce downtime and enhance operational resilience, positioning the acquirer as a trusted provider.

Risk Management

Risk management is essential for sustainable expansion in cross-border acquirer processing. Fraud prevention technology must adapt to new market environments, analyzing local fraud patterns and behaviors. Comprehensive transaction monitoring is necessary to fulfill AML obligations and identify suspicious activity before it affects merchant partners.

Chargeback management and tailored dispute resolution workflows are critical to protecting both the business and its clients. Robust business continuity plans help mitigate market-specific risks and regulatory changes. Ongoing training and adaptation of risk controls ensure that the acquirer’s operations remain resilient as the payment landscape evolves.

Prioritizing operational implementation and risk management in every new market directly supports sustainable growth, strengthens relationships with merchants and partners, and ensures that the acquirer’s reputation remains strong as the business scales globally.

Go-to-Market Strategy

Go-to-market strategy is crucial for acquirer processing business expansion into new markets. A strong go-to-market strategy ensures the right target customer segments are prioritized, brand positioning is aligned with market expectations, and continuous optimization drives sustainable growth. Effective execution in each of these areas determines whether acquirer processing providers can capture and retain market share in competitive environments.

Target Customer Segments

Identifying and prioritizing target customer segments is a core step in any go-to-market strategy for payment processing expansion. Each market presents unique opportunities, whether it is e-commerce, retail, hospitality, or emerging business models. A clear understanding of merchant needs, transaction volumes, and pain points allows acquirers to tailor solutions that resonate and convert. Success in acquirer processing often comes from targeting underserved or high-growth verticals and adapting products to solve segment-specific challenges.

Brand Positioning and Marketing

Brand positioning and marketing for acquirer processing expansion into new markets require a deep understanding of local merchant and partner expectations. Establishing a reputation as a reliable, innovative, and compliant provider is critical for building trust. Marketing campaigns should highlight unique selling points such as advanced technology, local payment method support, and dedicated customer service. Successful market entry is often driven by partnerships with local influencers, tailored content, and a strong digital presence that communicates credibility and expertise.

Continuous Optimization

Continuous optimization is necessary for maintaining momentum in a rapidly evolving payment market. Regular assessment of customer feedback, technology performance, and regulatory changes ensures that the go-to-market strategy remains relevant. Acquirer processing businesses must be ready to adjust pricing, onboarding workflows, and product features based on real-time market data. Ongoing optimization not only strengthens competitive positioning but also builds long-term merchant loyalty and supports profitable growth as the business expands internationally.

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Go-to-Market Strategy Key Takeaways

  • Focus go-to-market strategy on merchant verticals with high growth potential or underserved needs, such as e-commerce, hospitality, and emerging business models.
  • Position the brand around reliability, local payment method support, regulatory compliance, and advanced technology to build trust and credibility in each target market.
  • Use local partnerships, digital presence, and influencer engagement to accelerate market entry and drive merchant acquisition.
  • Continuously adjust onboarding processes, pricing models, and product features based on merchant feedback and evolving regulatory requirements to sustain competitive advantage and growth.