Merchant Acquiring in the UK

Abstract

Merchant Acquiring in Europe is essential reading for banks, suppliers, third party processors, regulators and others that are interested in or involved in merchant acquiring in the region.

RBR's objective with this report series is to produce the most comprehensive, up-to-date and insightful reports available on merchant acquiring in different European markets.

The first report in the series looks at the merchant acquiring market in Germany, the third largest payment card market in Europe. Germany has a unique payment card infrastructure that includes four domestic debit card payment methods and card acceptance arrangements based around network providers (Netzbetreiber) as well as conventional credit and charge card acquirers.

The second report examines Spain, the fourth largest payment card market in Europe and one of the region's fastest growing. Merchant Acquiring in Spain, provides a comprehensive description of the country's merchant acquiring market, including the roles played by the inter-bank organisations Euro 6000, ServiRed and Sistema 4B, the services and market shares of the country's 160 local acquirers, the status of EMV migration, and recent decisions on interchange fees by the Spanish Competition Authority.

The latest report in the series examines the UK, which is the most mature, and by most measures the largest, payment card market in Europe. Merchant Acquiring in the UK provides a comprehensive and unique description of merchant acquiring in the country, including profiles of major players, acquiring services, the competition for merchants, acquirer market shares, developments on interchange fees and Merchant Service Charges, and the progress and current status of implementing EMV and chip-and-PIN.

Based on exclusive interviews and primary research, these reports complement RBR's Payment Cards in Europe series.

Table of Contents

Market Overview

• Banking Structure
• Use of Payment Instruments
• Key Players in the Payment Cards Market
• Card Products
• Summary Card Statistics

Merchant Acquiring

• Debit Card Acquiring
• Charge and Credit Card Acquiring
• Merchant Acquirers
• Merchant Fraud
• Merchant Acquiring Statistics

Acquiring Processing

• Cardholder Verification
• Card Capture and Card Authentication
• POS Terminal Types and Suppliers
• Authorisations
• Data Collection
• Clearing and Settlement
• Fraud, Chargebacks and Write-offs
• Merchant Support
• E-Commerce Protocols
• M-Commerce
• Use of Third Party Processors and Other Organisations

Inter-Bank Organisation Profiles

Acquirer Profiles

Third Party Processor Profiles

Commercial Terms and Conditions

• Interchange Fees
• Merchant Service Charges
• Merchant Contracts

Rules and Regulations

Industry Initiatives

Strategic Issues