Two sides of the card scheme

Issuing and acquiring — one platform, two sides of the scheme.

topropay owns the acquiring side end-to-end: multi-acquirer routing, PCI L1 vault, one dispute queue. Issuing rides on licensed partner BIN sponsors: prepaid, debit, corporate expense and push-to-card payouts. One API, one dashboard, one reconciliation feed across both.

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Partner Issuer Connected Acquirer topropay Card scheme · Visa · Mastercard issuing side acquiring side
Same scheme · two sides · one platform in the middle.
Acquiring
Multi-acquirer orchestration owned by topropay
Issuing
Licensed partner BIN sponsors
1 API
Same contract across both sides of the scheme
1 ledger
Inbound & outbound in one reconciliation feed

Two sides in detail

acquiring and issuing — what each side actually delivers

Two distinct sides of the card scheme, delivered by different licensed institutions, stitched together by topropay's platform layer.

Acquiring

Merchant-side of the scheme

topropay orchestrates a panel of connected acquirers behind one unified API. Every card authorisation routes across the panel — smart routing, cascade on soft decline, PCI L1 vault, one reconciliation feed. This is the side of the scheme topropay owns end-to-end.

  • Multi-acquirer routing per BIN / currency / country
  • Cascade & retry inside the same authorisation
  • PCI DSS Level 1 vault; PAN never lands with merchants
  • One dispute queue across every connected acquirer
  • One reconciliation feed across the connected panel
Issuing

Cardholder-side of the scheme

Card issuing programmes on topropay are delivered through licensed partner BIN sponsors. The merchant runs a corporate expense card, a marketplace payout card or a customer loyalty card without holding an issuing licence themselves — the BIN, KYC, AML posture and scheme compliance sit with the partner issuer.

  • Prepaid & debit programmes via partner BIN sponsors
  • Virtual and physical card issuance
  • Push-to-card payouts (Visa Direct, Mastercard Send) via partners
  • KYC / KYB and AML delivered by the BIN sponsor
  • Programme reporting rolls into topropay's ledger

Key benefits

Why merchants pick issuing acquiring on one platform

Four properties that show up the moment card acceptance and card issuance stop being two separate stacks and start living on one platform record.

  1. One integration across the scheme

    Acquiring on one side, issuing on the other, one unified API in the middle. The merchant integrates once and configures which side (or both) is active — same authentication, same webhook shape, same vault semantics.

  2. Inbound and outbound in one ledger

    Inbound card acquiring authorisations and outbound issuing programme spend / payouts both surface in the same reconciliation feed. Finance reads one export instead of stitching two.

  3. Licences sit with licensed partners

    Card scheme membership, issuing licences and BIN sponsorship stay with the licensed partner. The merchant inherits the compliance posture per side without carrying separate certifications themselves.

  4. One dispute posture, per side

    Acquiring-side chargebacks flow through topropay's unified dispute queue. Issuing-side disputes (cardholder-initiated) route through the partner issuer's process. Both surface in the same merchant dashboard for tracking.

How issuing and acquiring works

From onboarding to one-ledger reconciliation across the scheme

Four steps to run both sides of the scheme through one platform record — pick, onboard, integrate, reconcile.

  1. 01

    Pick the side(s)

    The merchant enables acquiring, issuing, or both during onboarding. Most merchants start with acquiring; issuing joins later when a card-programme use case emerges (payouts, expense, loyalty).

  2. 02

    Onboard per side

    Acquiring onboarding runs through topropay's KYB and the connected acquirer panel. Issuing onboarding runs through the partner BIN sponsor's licensing checks — additional compliance depth per scheme rules.

  3. 03

    Integrate the unified API

    Both sides share the same REST contract. Acquiring endpoints handle authorisation, capture, refund and settlement. Issuing endpoints handle card creation, load, spend controls and payout.

  4. 04

    Reconcile in one feed

    Acquiring settlement (inbound) plus issuing programme activity (outbound) normalise into one ledger. Daily exports tagged by side, scheme, currency and (for issuing) programme ID.

Main use cases

Where issuing and acquiring solutions earn their keep

Six merchant shapes that combine card acquiring on the inbound side with card issuing or push-to-card on the outbound side.

  • Retail

    Merchant acquiring + loyalty issuing

    A retailer accepts card payments across its stores and online (acquiring) and issues a store-loyalty prepaid card (issuing via partner). Both sides share the customer's vault token where applicable.

  • Plat

    Marketplaces routing acquiring in, issuing out

    The marketplace acquires buyer payments across a panel of card acquirers, then pushes seller payouts to seller-owned cards issued via the partner BIN sponsor. One dashboard covers both flows.

  • B2B

    Corporate expense cards + card acquiring

    A B2B seller accepts card payments from customers (acquiring) and issues corporate expense cards to employees or contractors (issuing via partner). Reconciliation ties both sides to the same accounting system.

  • Trvl

    Travel: acquiring + refund-to-card

    Travel merchants take card payments and push refunds or compensation to cardholder cards via partner-delivered push-to-card (Visa Direct, Mastercard Send). Refund SLA improves vs bank rail.

  • Gig

    Gig platforms routing daily payouts

    Gig platforms acquire card payments from end customers and issue push-to-card payouts to workers daily. The workers see funds available same-day rather than waiting on ACH.

  • PSP

    PSPs reselling both sides downstream

    PSPs resell acquiring plus issuing to their downstream merchants under one contract. The PSP keeps the merchant relationship; the platform handles the per-side message exchange.

Platform features

Capabilities per side — acquiring vs issuing payment processing

Twelve capabilities, six per side. Acquiring capabilities sit with topropay's own platform. Issuing capabilities sit with the partner BIN sponsor, surfaced through the same dashboard.

Acquiring capabilities (topropay-owned)

  • Unified acquiring API

    One REST contract in front of every connected acquirer; hosted, embedded and SDK checkout shapes.

  • Smart routing engine

    Per-BIN, per-currency, per-country scoring across the connected acquirer panel.

  • Cascade & retry

    Soft declines cascade to the next ranked acquirer inside the same authorisation.

  • PCI DSS Level 1 vault

    Card data captures into the vault before any acquirer sees it; PAN never lands with merchants.

  • Network tokens & updaters

    VTS / MDES network tokens by default; scheme account updaters wired in.

  • Unified dispute queue

    Chargebacks from every connected acquirer merge into one queue with evidence-pack templates.

Issuing capabilities (partner-delivered)

  • Prepaid & debit programmes

    Consumer and corporate programmes via licensed BIN sponsors on Visa and Mastercard rails.

  • Virtual & physical cards

    Instantly-issued virtual cards for online spend; physical card fulfilment via partner personalisation bureaus.

  • Push-to-card payouts

    Visa Direct and Mastercard Send push-to-card via partner connectivity; payouts settle in minutes.

  • Spend controls & MCC blocking

    Per-card and per-programme spend limits, category blocking, geo restrictions and velocity rules via the partner issuer.

  • Cardholder KYC & AML

    Partner BIN sponsor delivers cardholder KYC, AML monitoring and scheme reporting for the issuing programme.

  • Programme reporting

    Issuing programme activity rolls into topropay's dashboard for cross-side reporting and reconciliation.

Industry relevance

issuing and acquiring bank fit for licensed EU, UK, APAC and LATAM merchants

topropay's two-sides model targets licensed merchants across Europe, the UK, APAC and LATAM. Acquiring-side connectivity is broad — the connected acquirer panel spans most major markets. Issuing-side coverage depends on the licensed partner BIN sponsor's own scope; not every issuing programme is available in every geography.

  • Marketplaces & platforms
  • Retail with loyalty card programmes
  • B2B sellers running expense cards
  • Gig platforms with worker payouts
  • Travel with refund-to-card
  • PSPs reselling both sides
  • Licensed gaming (where licensed)
  • Adult content · out of scope
  • Unlicensed gambling · out of scope

Trust & compliance

Compliance posture on both sides of the scheme

Acquiring-side compliance rides with topropay's PCI DSS Level 1 posture. Issuing-side compliance rides with the licensed partner BIN sponsor's scheme membership and cardholder KYC / AML posture.

PCI DSS Level 1
Acquiring side runs under topropay's PCI DSS Level 1 service-provider posture; sub-merchants inherit the posture across every connected acquirer.
Card scheme membership
Acquirer-side scheme membership and licensing sit with the licensed connected acquirers. Issuing-side scheme membership sits with the licensed partner BIN sponsor.
Scheme programmes (VDMP / VAMP / ECP)
Acquiring-side scheme programme positions (VDMP / VAMP / VFMP for Visa, ECP / EFMP for Mastercard) surfaced per connected acquirer in the dashboard.
SCA & PSD2
Selective EMV 3DS2 on the acquiring authorisation path keeps approval high in Europe. Issuing-side SCA sits with the partner BIN sponsor per scheme rules.
Sanctions & AML alignment
Sanctions screening at onboarding on both sides; AML monitoring on acquiring side by topropay, on issuing side by the partner BIN sponsor.
Licensed verticals only
Licensed gaming, regulated financial services and other compliance-bound verticals supported only where current operating licences exist. Grey and black-market verticals are out of scope on both the acquiring and issuing sides.

Ready to unify both sides

Bring issuing and acquiring onto one merchant record.

A 30-minute review covers which side (acquiring, issuing, or both) fits your use case, the partner BIN sponsors available for your geography, and a sandbox to test against before any commercial commitment.

Book a two-sides review Read the API docs

Frequently asked

Buyer questions about issuing and acquiring on topropay

Definitions, the licensing split between acquiring and issuing sides, the partner-BIN-sponsor model, and the practicalities of running both sides through one platform.

  1. 01

    What does issuing and acquiring mean on topropay?

    Issuing and acquiring are the two sides of the card scheme. Acquiring is merchant-side — accepting card authorisations across a panel of connected acquirers, which topropay owns end-to-end. Issuing is cardholder-side — running a card programme (prepaid, debit, corporate expense, push-to-card payouts) via a licensed partner BIN sponsor. Both sides share one API surface and one reconciliation feed on topropay.

  2. 02

    How does acquiring and issuing differ operationally?

    Acquiring and issuing differ in who owns the relationship. Acquiring is a merchant-to-scheme relationship (via the acquirer) that turns card taps into settled funds for the merchant. Issuing is a cardholder-to-scheme relationship (via the issuer) that lets the cardholder spend. topropay orchestrates the merchant side directly and the cardholder side via licensed BIN-sponsor partners.

  3. 03

    Does topropay hold an issuing licence?

    No. topropay does not hold a direct card-issuing licence. Issuing programmes on topropay are delivered through licensed partner BIN sponsors that hold Visa and Mastercard issuing licences. The merchant runs the programme without holding the licence themselves — the licence, cardholder KYC, AML posture and scheme reporting sit with the partner issuer.

  4. 04

    How does an issuing and acquiring bank fit into the model?

    An issuing and acquiring bank is a single licensed institution that holds both issuing and acquiring memberships with the schemes. Some banks do — many don't. topropay's model uses licensed partners on both sides: connected acquirers for acquiring and BIN-sponsor issuers for issuing. From the merchant's perspective, the combined result looks like a single platform even when the underlying licences sit with different institutions.

  5. 05

    What does card issuing and acquiring look like on the same merchant record?

    Card issuing and acquiring on the same merchant record means one dashboard, one API and one reconciliation feed cover both flows. A retailer, for example, accepts card payments in stores (acquiring) and issues loyalty cards to shoppers (issuing) — both surface under one merchant login with role-based access for the finance, ops and marketing teams involved.

  6. 06

    Is there such a thing as an acquiring and issuing bank the platform partners with?

    The platform partners with multiple institutions rather than one 'acquiring and issuing bank'. The connected acquirer panel spans several licensed acquirers; the BIN-sponsor panel spans several partner issuers. The merchant picks the sides they need; the platform routes the traffic through the appropriate partners underneath.

  7. 07

    How is acquiring e issuing phrased in Portuguese-speaking markets?

    Acquiring e issuing (Portuguese phrasing common in Brazil and Portugal) describes the same two sides of the card scheme covered on this page — adquirência (acquiring) and emissão (issuing). topropay's LATAM connectivity includes licensed Brazilian acquirers on the acquiring side; issuing programmes in Brazil are delivered through partners with local BIN sponsorship.

  8. 08

    Some searches also use just 'acquiring issuing' — is that the same thing?

    Yes. Acquiring issuing (with or without the connector 'and') is the same concept — the two-sides-of-the-scheme model. Search variations like 'acquiring issuing' and 'issuing acquiring' point at the same underlying capability: card acceptance on one side, card programme delivery on the other, under one platform.

  9. 09

    And 'issuing e acquiring'?

    Issuing e acquiring is the Portuguese-language variant of 'issuing and acquiring' — same model, same platform posture. topropay's presence in LATAM covers acquiring-side connectivity (card acquirers licensed in-region) plus partner-delivered issuing programmes where the regional BIN sponsor holds the necessary licences.

  10. 10

    What issuing and acquiring solutions does the platform bundle?

    Issuing and acquiring solutions on topropay include: (1) multi-acquirer acquiring with smart routing and cascade on the merchant side, (2) prepaid / debit / corporate card issuing via partner BIN sponsors, (3) push-to-card payout rails (Visa Direct, Mastercard Send) for outbound payments, and (4) a cross-side dashboard, reconciliation and reporting layer that ties both flows together for finance.

  11. 11

    How does issuing payment processing work under the hood?

    Issuing payment processing runs through the partner BIN sponsor's issuer-processor stack. The BIN sponsor authorises the cardholder's spend against the programme balance, funds settle per scheme rules, and topropay ingests the activity events into the merchant's dashboard and reconciliation feed. The merchant doesn't operate the issuer-processor themselves — that stays with the licensed partner.

  12. 12

    Can a merchant activate acquiring without activating issuing?

    Yes. Most merchants activate acquiring first — it's the direct payment-acceptance use case. Issuing joins later when the merchant has a specific card-programme use case (e.g. expense cards, marketplace payouts, loyalty). Activating issuing later is a routing-policy plus BIN-sponsor-onboarding step, not a re-integration.

  13. 13

    Can a merchant activate issuing without acquiring?

    In principle yes — a merchant with no direct card-acceptance need but a card-programme use case can activate issuing on its own. In practice most merchants that reach for issuing already have an acquiring relationship, so activating issuing alongside makes both sides settle into the same ledger and dashboard.

  14. 14

    How long does issuing programme onboarding take?

    Issuing programme onboarding through a partner BIN sponsor typically runs 6–12 weeks depending on the programme design, cardholder scope, and any scheme-specific programme filings required. Acquiring onboarding is faster — usually 2–4 weeks — because it doesn't carry the same cardholder-KYC and issuer-scheme-filing burden.

  15. 15

    Where are issuing and acquiring geographically available?

    Acquiring is available across EU, UK, APAC and LATAM through the connected acquirer panel, with US connectivity via licensed US acquirers. Issuing is available in markets where a licensed BIN-sponsor partner is present — Europe (via EU-licensed EMIs), UK (via UK-licensed EMIs), and select APAC / LATAM markets. A 30-minute review confirms per-region availability before commercial commitment.

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