Expanding Into Europe: Should UK Businesses Use Local Acquiring or One Global PSP?

UK Business Expanding in Europe? Local Acquiring or Global?

A UK business can sell to customers across Europe without having a separate payment provider in every country.

It can display prices in euros, accept European cards and potentially receive settlement in different currencies while continuing to use the same payment provider it uses in the UK.

But as European sales grow, a more strategic question begins to emerge:

Should we continue processing European payments through our existing structure, or would local or regional acquiring improve our costs, payment performance or customer experience?

For an established ecommerce, travel, SaaS, hospitality, subscription or platform business, this can become a significant commercial decision.

A merchant processing £500,000 of European card volume a year may reasonably prioritise simplicity.

A merchant processing £20 million, £50 million or £100 million across several European markets may need to think very differently.

The objective is not necessarily to find a separate European payment provider.

It is to determine where your transactions should be acquired, which legal entities should be involved, which currencies you should accept and settle, and whether your current PSP structure still makes sense as the business internationalises.

For businesses already dealing with broader international payment requirements, see our International Merchant Accounts & Payments guide. For the separate question of accepting and settling different currencies, see our Foreign Currency Merchant Account guide.

Quick Summary

Expanding into Europe does not automatically mean a UK business needs:

• a separate PSP in every country;
• a merchant account in every European market;
• a local company in every country;
• local acquiring everywhere; or
• to replace its existing global payment provider.

But increasing European payment volume can justify reviewing:

• where transactions are acquired;
• domestic versus cross-border payment costs;
• authorisation rates by country;
• local payment methods;
• presentment currencies;
• settlement currencies;
• FX costs;
• local legal entities;
• merchant-account structure;
• international-card costs;
• PSP coverage;
• reconciliation;
• settlement banking; and
• whether one or several acquiring relationships are appropriate.

There are broadly three possible structures:

one global PSP and acquiring relationship;

one PSP providing local or regional acquiring across relevant markets;

or

multiple PSPs or acquirers selected according to market requirements.

None is automatically better.

The correct structure depends on the merchant's volume, markets, legal entities, card mix, payment methods, technology and commercial objectives.

Selling in Europe Is Not the Same as Acquiring Locally in Europe

This is one of the most important distinctions for businesses expanding internationally.

A merchant can sell a product to a customer in France and display the price in euros without necessarily having the card transaction locally acquired in France.

Likewise, accepting EUR does not automatically mean the merchant has a European merchant account.

Four different concepts often get mixed together:

These can be connected, but they are not the same thing.

Example

A UK ecommerce business could potentially:

• show a French customer a price of €150;
• accept the customer's French-issued Visa card;
• use its existing payment provider;
• have the transaction acquired through its existing acquiring structure; and
• receive settlement in GBP or EUR depending on its provider arrangement.

That merchant is selling internationally.

It does not necessarily mean it is locally acquiring the transaction in France or elsewhere in the EEA.

For more detail on the currency side of this distinction, see our Foreign Currency Merchant Account guide.

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What Is Local Acquiring?

Broadly, local acquiring means card transactions are acquired through payment infrastructure relevant to the market in which the merchant and/or transaction is being serviced, rather than simply routing all international transactions back through one acquiring relationship in another region.

Major global PSPs may hold acquiring capabilities in multiple countries or regions, meaning a merchant can sometimes benefit from local or regional acquiring while retaining a single technology/provider relationship.

For example, Adyen currently describes a model where a global merchant can use one payment partner while transactions are locally acquired in markets where Adyen holds the relevant acquiring capabilities.

Read Adyen's explanation of global payments and local acquiring.

This is an important distinction because:

one PSP does not necessarily mean one acquiring location.

A sophisticated global provider may be able to provide different acquiring arrangements behind a single integration and reporting environment.

Does Local Acquiring Reduce Payment Costs?

It can, but it should not be assumed.

Payment cost depends on much more than where the PSP's head office is located.

Relevant factors can include:

• where the card was issued;
• where the merchant/acquiring relationship sits;
• consumer versus commercial cards;
• debit versus credit;
• interchange;
• scheme fees;
• cross-border charges;
• PSP/acquirer margin;
• transaction value;
• currency;
• FX;
• payment method; and
• individual merchant pricing.

Within the EU, Regulation (EU) 2015/751 caps interchange on qualifying consumer card transactions at 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards, subject to the scope and exemptions within the regulation.

Read Regulation (EU) 2015/751 on card interchange fees.

However, a UK merchant selling into the EEA should not simply assume every European transaction receives the same economics as a domestic EEA transaction.

The UK and EEA payment relationship changed following Brexit, and actual card-processing costs need to be established from the merchant's own card and transaction data.

MAS View

Don't ask whether local acquiring is cheaper in theory. Ask whether it would be cheaper for your actual European transaction mix.

When European Volume Becomes Material, Small Differences Become Important

Suppose a UK merchant processes:

£50 million of annual ecommerce card volume

of which:

£15 million now comes from European customers.

A difference equivalent to just 0.10% across that £15 million represents:

£15,000 per year.

At 0.20%:

£30,000 per year.

At 0.30%:

£45,000 per year.

These are illustrative calculations only. They do not imply that local acquiring will produce a saving of 0.10%, 0.20% or 0.30%.

They demonstrate something more important:

once European volume becomes substantial, relatively small differences in payment economics can justify a proper market-by-market review.

This is why high-volume businesses should evaluate international payment costs alongside their wider payment-fee audit.

Does Local Acquiring Improve Authorisation Rates?

Potentially, but not automatically.

Local acquiring is often associated with better payment acceptance because the transaction may be processed within infrastructure more familiar to local issuers.

Adyen, for example, promotes local acquiring as one factor that can contribute to improved authorisation performance and lower transaction costs.

See Adyen's explanation of local acquiring.

However, authorisation rates are affected by many variables.

These can include:

• issuer;
• merchant category;
• fraud profile;
• 3D Secure;
• transaction data quality;
• card type;
• customer history;
• recurring versus one-off payment;
• routing;
• PSP/acquirer capabilities;
• authentication exemptions;
• retry logic; and
• the reasons transactions are currently being declined.

A merchant should therefore compare authorisation performance using its own data.

For more on how to do this, see our guide to improving payment authorisation rates for enterprise merchants.

Don't Judge European Payment Performance Using One Overall Authorisation Rate

An overall figure can hide significant differences between markets.

Imagine a merchant reporting:

overall authorisation rate: 93%

That could appear satisfactory.

But underneath it could be:

These figures are illustrative only.

The point is that international payment performance should be broken down by market.

Useful analysis might include:

• country;
• issuer country;
• card type;
• payment method;
• transaction value;
• customer type;
• 3D Secure outcome;
• decline reason;
• PSP/acquirer; and
• currency.

That can help establish whether a payment problem is genuinely geographic or caused by something else.

One Global PSP Can Still Be the Right Answer

International growth does not automatically justify adding payment providers.

A single global PSP can offer significant benefits.

These may include:

• one integration;
• central reporting;
• simpler reconciliation;
• one provider relationship;
• consistent tokenisation;
• central fraud management;
• common checkout infrastructure;
• multiple currencies;
• local payment methods;
• regional acquiring through one provider; and
• simpler operational ownership.

If the existing PSP provides suitable acquiring coverage, competitive economics and good payment performance in the countries where the merchant is expanding, there may be little commercial reason to introduce another provider.

MAS View

International expansion is not a reason to create payment complexity unnecessarily.

A merchant should add another relationship only where it solves a defined commercial, operational or payment-performance problem.

One PSP Can Also Provide Multiple Acquiring Structures

This is where discussions about “one PSP versus multiple PSPs” can become misleading.

A global payment provider may offer:

one commercial/technology relationship

while providing:

different acquiring capabilities across multiple markets.

For the merchant, that can potentially provide some of the advantages of local acquiring without creating separate technical integrations for every country.

The important questions become:

• Where does the provider have local acquiring capabilities?
• Which merchant entity will contract?
• Which markets will genuinely be locally acquired?
• Where will cross-border acquiring still occur?
• What pricing applies in each region?
• Where will funds settle?
• Which currencies can be settled?
• Can payment tokens be used across entities?
• Is reporting consolidated?
• Can authorisation performance be compared by market?

When Might Multiple PSPs or Acquirers Make Sense?

There are situations where a second or regional payment provider deserves consideration.

For example:

• one PSP performs materially better in a strategically important country;
• a particular provider offers local acquiring where the incumbent does not;
• a local payment method is strategically important;
• the business requires regional redundancy;
• one business unit has specialist payment requirements;
• an acquired company already has favourable acquiring arrangements;
• different legal entities require different payment structures;
• the incumbent's European economics have become uncompetitive;
• the business wants additional negotiating leverage; or
• payment concentration risk has become strategically important.

But every additional provider introduces its own cost.

This can include:

• integration;
• testing;
• merchant accounts;
• reconciliation;
• finance processes;
• reporting;
• fraud configuration;
• token management;
• refund processes;
• chargeback management;
• support; and
• commercial management.

For businesses considering multiple acquiring relationships, see our Acquirer-Agnostic Payment Gateways guide.

The Customer's Currency and the Merchant's Settlement Currency Are Separate Decisions

A European customer may want to shop in euros.

That does not necessarily mean the merchant wants every euro transaction immediately converted into sterling.

An international merchant should separately decide:

What currencies should customers be able to pay in?

and:

What currencies should the business receive settlement in?

For example, a UK business with substantial European costs might receive EUR revenue and also have:

• European suppliers;
• EU payroll;
• warehousing costs;
• marketing expenditure;
• tax liabilities; or
• other EUR-denominated expenses.

Automatically converting all European revenue to GBP and later buying euros again to meet European costs may create unnecessary FX activity.

The correct structure depends on the company's treasury and banking requirements.

Our Foreign Currency Merchant Account guide looks more specifically at accepting and settling card payments in different currencies.

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Local Payment Methods Can Matter as Much as Local Acquiring

European expansion should not be treated as a card-only project.

Payment preferences differ between markets.

Depending on the country and customer base, a merchant may need to consider local or alternative payment methods alongside Visa, Mastercard and digital wallets.

The strategic question is:

Which payment methods do our customers actually expect in each market?

Not:

How many payment methods can our PSP technically switch on?

Adding dozens of payment methods that customers do not use creates little value.

But failing to provide a locally important payment method can create unnecessary checkout friction.

For more on this area, see our Alternative Payment Methods guide.

Do You Need a Local Legal Entity to Acquire Payments in Europe?

Not necessarily in every market.

The answer depends on the provider, acquiring structure, country, business model and regulatory requirements.

Some global payment providers can support international merchants through regional structures without the merchant establishing a separate company in every country where customers are located.

Other acquiring arrangements may require an appropriate local or regional merchant entity.

A growing business should therefore avoid assuming either:

“We sell in France, therefore we need a French company.”

or:

“Our UK company can use exactly the same payment structure everywhere.”

The entity question should be considered alongside:

• tax;
• corporate structure;
• regulatory requirements;
• acquiring;
• banking;
• employment;
• warehousing;
• local operations; and
• commercial strategy.

Payment requirements should inform that discussion, but merchant-account considerations should not determine corporate structure on their own.

Brexit Means UK and EU Payment Structures Should Not Be Treated as One Market

The UK's departure from the EU changed the regulatory relationship between UK and EEA financial-services firms.

The FCA confirms that the former EEA passporting regime no longer operates for UK/EEA payment services in the way it did before the end of the Brexit transition period.

The UK continues to operate its own Payment Services Regulations and regulatory framework.

Read the FCA guidance on the UK Payment Services Regulations.

For merchants, this does not mean accepting European payments has become inherently difficult.

It means businesses should establish:

• which regulated entity provides the payment service;
• where acquiring takes place;
• which merchant entity is contracting;
• which countries are supported;
• where funds settle; and
• how UK and EEA payment activity is structured.

Large businesses should avoid assuming that a payment arrangement built for the UK can simply be replicated unchanged across Europe.

International Expansion Is Also a Provider-Contract Question

A merchant may already have a very good payment-provider agreement.

But that agreement may have been negotiated when:

• 95% of sales were UK-based;
• the business had one legal entity;
• GBP was the only settlement currency;
• international cards represented little volume; and
• there was no need for local payment methods.

Five years later, the business may be completely different.

For example:

• 40% of sales may now come from Europe;
• there may be several group entities;
• EUR revenue may be significant;
• the business may have local European operations; and
• payment volume may have increased substantially.

The provider agreement should therefore be reviewed against the business the merchant has become, not only the business that originally signed it.

Should You Renegotiate Before Adding Another PSP?

Often, yes.

If the existing provider has suitable European acquiring capability but the current economics are poor, the first step may be commercial renegotiation rather than technical migration.

An incumbent provider may be able to change:

• pricing;
• acquiring structure;
• merchant-account configuration;
• settlement currencies;
• regional entities;
• payment methods; or
• other aspects of the payment setup.

This can potentially solve the problem without adding another integration.

The merchant should know what alternative providers could offer before negotiating, but an external provider does not automatically need to replace the incumbent.

Build a European Payment Map Before Comparing Providers

One of the most useful exercises is to map the payment estate by market.

The figures above are illustrative.

The point is to make the international payment estate visible.

Once the business can see:

volume + cost + authorisation + currency + payment method + acquiring structure

by market, provider comparison becomes much more useful.

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The MAS European Expansion Test

For an established UK merchant, we would look at five areas before considering a different payment structure.

1. Is European Volume Material?

What proportion of total payment volume now originates from European customers?

And which countries are driving that growth?

2. Is There a Payment Problem to Solve?

For example:

• high cross-border costs;
• poor authorisation;
• FX;
• missing payment methods;
• settlement issues;
• provider limitations; or
• entity complexity.

3. Can the Existing PSP Solve It?

Does the incumbent already offer local or regional acquiring, better commercial terms, local payment methods or an alternative entity structure?

4. Would Another Provider Create Enough Value?

Compare:

potential cost saving + payment-performance improvement + operational benefit

against:

integration + additional complexity + migration + reconciliation + ongoing management.

5. Is One Provider Still Appropriate?

If different markets now genuinely require different acquiring strategies, a multi-provider architecture may warrant consideration.

MAS View

The trigger for changing payment architecture should be a measurable international payment problem — not simply the fact that the company has started selling overseas.

What Data Should You Take to a European Payment Review?

Before approaching providers, gather:

• 12 months of processing volume;
• volume by customer country;
• volume by card-issuer country;
• transaction count;
• average transaction value;
• debit/credit split;
• consumer/commercial card mix;
• domestic/international card mix;
• current processing fees;
• interchange and scheme fees where available;
• FX costs;
• presentment currencies;
• settlement currencies;
• authorisation rate by market;
• decline data;
• refund rate;
• chargeback rate;
• payment methods;
• legal entities;
• banking requirements;
• current PSP/acquirer;
• gateway/integration;
• future market launches; and
• expected European growth.

For a wider cost review, see our UK Merchant Fees Benchmark 2026 and High-Turnover Payment Fee Audit guide.

Three European Payment Structures to Compare

There is no universally correct model.

The aim is to select the simplest architecture capable of meeting the merchant's commercial requirements.

What About Businesses Expanding From Europe Into the UK?

The same principles largely work in reverse.

An established European business entering the UK should consider:

• UK customer payment preferences;
• GBP presentment;
• GBP settlement;
• UK acquiring;
• UK legal entities where relevant;
• cross-border card economics;
• payment authorisation performance;
• local banking;
• regulatory structure; and
• whether the existing European PSP provides the UK coverage required.

A provider that works extremely well for a merchant's core European market may or may not be the strongest structure for UK growth.

High-Risk and Specialist Businesses Have an Additional Problem

For higher-risk sectors, international expansion can involve another layer:

provider risk appetite.

The merchant may find a technically excellent European PSP that does not support its industry, future markets or transaction model.

For those businesses, underwriting suitability may need to be established before detailed acquiring optimisation.

Our International Merchant Accounts & Payments guide covers the international merchant-account question in more detail.

How Merchant Advice Service Approaches UK and European Expansion

Merchant Advice Service does not start an international payment review by assuming that the merchant needs a different PSP.

We first look at:

where the business is selling

↓

where payment volume is coming from

↓

how those transactions are currently acquired

↓

what they cost

↓

how they perform

↓

what the business will need next

The result may be:

• keep the existing global PSP;
• renegotiate the incumbent structure;
• use the existing provider's local acquiring capability;
• change international payment configuration;
• introduce another regional PSP/acquirer;
• move to a different global provider; or
• design a broader multi-acquirer strategy.

The objective is not to create more payment infrastructure.

It is to make sure the payment infrastructure reflects the scale and geography of the business.

For more on how MAS approaches provider selection, see How Merchant Advice Service Works and How MAS Researches and Compares Payment Providers.

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Sources & Further Reading

European Union — Regulation on Interchange Fees for Card-Based Payments

Regulation (EU) 2015/751 sets rules on interchange fees for qualifying card transactions within its scope, including caps for qualifying consumer debit and credit transactions.

Regulation (EU) 2015/751

Financial Conduct Authority — Payment Services Regulations

Current FCA information covering the UK's Payment Services Regulations, payment institutions and the post-EU-exit UK regulatory framework.

FCA Payment Services Regulations guidance

Adyen — Global Payments and Local Acquiring

Adyen's explanation of local acquiring, cross-border processing and using one global payment relationship across multiple acquiring markets.

Adyen local acquiring guidance

Related Merchant Advice Service Guidance

• Payments Strategy Library
• International Merchant Accounts & Payments
• Foreign Currency Merchant Account
• High-Volume Merchant Processing
• How Enterprise Merchants Improve Payment Authorisation Rates
• How High-Turnover Businesses Audit Payment Fees
• UK Merchant Fees Benchmark 2026
• Acquirer-Agnostic Payment Gateways
• Alternative Payment Methods
• Compare UK Payment Providers

Editorial and Commercial Disclosure

Merchant Advice Service is an independent payments information, comparison and provider-matching service.

MAS may receive commission or a referral fee from some payment providers where a business chooses to proceed following an introduction. This does not determine the factual information, analysis or payment structures discussed in this guide.

Payment providers referenced within this article are examples used to explain current acquiring and international-payment structures. Their inclusion does not represent a complete whole-of-market list or ranking.

This article does not suggest that UK businesses expanding into Europe automatically require local acquiring, a European legal entity, multiple payment providers or a new merchant account.

Acquiring availability, pricing, cross-border fees, interchange, scheme fees, settlement currencies, payment methods, regulatory structures and entity requirements vary according to provider, market, business model and merchant circumstances.

Worked payment-volume and cost calculations within this guide are illustrative examples only and do not represent guaranteed savings from local acquiring or any particular payment provider.

Payment authorisation performance depends on multiple factors. Merchant Advice Service does not guarantee that local acquiring, a different PSP or any particular payment architecture will improve authorisation rates.

Corporate, tax and regulatory requirements should be considered separately from merchant-account strategy. Businesses should obtain appropriate legal, regulatory, tax or accounting advice where required.

Merchant Advice Service does not make provider underwriting decisions or guarantee merchant-account acceptance, pricing or commercial terms.

Regulatory and provider information last checked: 25 August 2026

This guide provides general payments information and should not be treated as legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, technical or financial advice.