Difference Between the Acquirer and

Issuer
The acquiring bank (also merchant bank or acquirer) is the financial institution
that maintains the merchant’s bank account. The contract with the acquirer
enables merchants to process credit and debit card transactions. The acquiring
bank passes the merchant’s transactions along to the applicable issuing banks to
receive payment.
The issuing bank is the financial institution that issues credit cards to
consumers on behalf of the card networks (Visa, MasterCard). The issuer acts as
the middle-man for the consumer and the card network by contracting with the
cardholders for the terms of the repayment of transactions.