Merchant Acquiring Fundamentals (Virtual Instructor-Led)

Gain a clear, practical understanding of the merchant acquiring business and the forces shaping its rapid evolution in North America. In this virtual instructor-led course, you’ll explore how the acquiring ecosystem works, how acquirers generate revenue and how changing merchant needs, technology and competition are reshaping the market. Through expert-led discussion and real-world insight, you’ll connect acquiring fundamentals with today’s growth strategies and operating models. 

First, you’ll build a strong foundation in the acquiring ecosystem and the broader payments landscape. Learn the role of acquirers within the payments value chain and explore how acquirers, processors, networks and merchants interact to enable payment acceptance and support merchant needs. 

Next, you’ll examine how acquirers generate revenue and what is driving growth in today’s market. Look at core acquiring revenue drivers, including pricing and core products, as well as value-added services such as fraud prevention, data and analytics and merchant enablement tools. Explore the market trends affecting acquirers, merchants and partners, including evolving merchant expectations, digital commerce growth and increasing competitive pressure. 

Then, you’ll explore the strategies acquirers use to manage growth, profitability and merchant relationships across different segments. Learn about sales and portfolio management best practices, how acquirers segment merchants and align commercial strategies to merchant lifecycle needs and how different operating and distribution models in the U.S. acquiring landscape influence scale, efficiency and long-term growth. 

You'll conclude the course by examining how acquirers manage risk in a changing payments environment. Gain insight into key fraud, compliance and operational risk considerations and how these factors support a healthy, sustainable and commercially resilient acquiring business. 

Designed for professionals seeking a holistic and commercially grounded view of acquiring, this course equips you with the insights needed to better support merchants, inform strategy and compete effectively in a changing payments environment.