Blueprint · 07 Merchant acquiring

Onboard merchants, deploy terminals, settle daily.

Reference architecture for a PSP-style acquirer expanding into card-present. KYB → terminal provisioning → acceptance → settlement → disputes. PAX-native on the terminals capability. Built for acquirers whose merchants need physical terminals on top of online payments.

Talk to us about your launch See other blueprints
The use case

Card-present acquiring is operationally heavier than online. Klyqo treats both as one runtime.

Online-only acquiring is a clean software problem. Card-present adds physical terminal logistics, deployment, returns, configuration, key-injection. Most acquirers run two systems — one for online, one for terminals — and the merchant feels the seams. Klyqo unifies both.

KYB to first transaction
< 72 h
Terminal deployment
D+1 to D+5
Daily settlement
Per-merchant
PAX-native
Terminals capability
The architecture

Terminals on one side, online on the other, one runtime for both.

The acquirer’s job is to onboard merchants, give them tools to accept payments (online + terminal), settle the money to their account daily, and handle disputes. Klyqo treats terminals as a marketplace capability (PAX), online acceptance as another (gateway providers), and unifies the merchant lifecycle into one journey.

Compliance railPer-merchant KYB; sanctioned-list screening; transaction monitoring
Layer 5 · Channels
Merchant + operator surfaces
Merchant dashboardOperator consoleTerminal managementSettlement reports
Risk railPer-merchant fraud monitoring + cohort risk; chargeback ratios
ComplianceAcquirer-level reporting to scheme + regulator; per-merchant audit
Layer 4 · Klyqo · the Banking OS
Runtime + marketplace dispatch
ComposeDispatchRunObserveOnboardProvisionAcquireSettleDispute
RiskReal-time transaction monitoring; merchant-cohort risk dashboards
CompliancePCI-DSS scope on gateway side; PCI-PTS on terminal side
Layer 3 · Marketplace primitives & providers
Acquirer-specific capabilities
Terminals · PAXOnline gateway · (per geo)KYB · SumsubSettlement · Modern TreasuryDisputes · Chargehound
RiskMulti-vendor fraud signals concatenated per transaction
ComplianceScheme acquirer membership; settlement reconciliation
Layer 2 · Acquirer layer
Your acquiring licence + scheme connection
Acquirer licenceScheme depositSettlement infrastructure
RiskPer-merchant + cohort limits enforced at the acquirer layer
ComplianceAcquirer licence per jurisdiction + scheme membership
Layer 1 · Foundation (yours)
Acquirer licence · scheme membership · capital
Acquirer licenceScheme membershipCapital reserve
RiskCapital + scheme deposits define merchant ceiling
The canonical journey

Merchant onboarded to terminal deployed to first sale settled.

Merchant signs up via your portal. Klyqo runs KYB + UBO + AML → merchant agreement signed → PAX terminal configured + dispatched → terminal activated on first power-on → transactions flow → daily settlement to merchant’s account.

klyqo / journeys / merchant-onboarding · LIVE
01
Merchant sign-upyour portal · company info captured
< 5 min
02
KYB + UBO + AMLSumsub · entity verification + screening
~30 min
03
Merchant agreement signedeIDAS-signed contract · rate sheet
user-driven
04
Terminal configuredPAX · key injection + branding
~20 min
05
Terminal dispatchedD+1 to D+5 by region
shipping window
06
Activation + first saleterminal phones home · first transaction approved
~10 min
07
Daily settlementModern Treasury · T+1 to merchant’s account
daily
The providers used

What you pick from the marketplace.

A merchant acquiring operation uses six marketplace providers. PAX is production today as the terminal capability provider; the other adapters are scoped or in flight.

Terminals · card-present
PAX
Production-grade terminal vendor. Key injection, deployment, lifecycle management. Klyqo-native partner.
Live
Online gateway
(per-region)
Geography-specific gateway adapters. Klyqo normalizes the gateway API across regions.
Roadmap
KYB · merchant verification
Sumsub
Merchant entity + UBO + screening as one onboarding journey.
Roadmap
AML · transaction monitoring
ComplyAdvantage
Per-merchant + per-cohort monitoring. Sub-second screening on settlement.
Roadmap
Settlement · payouts
Modern Treasury
Daily settlement to merchant accounts. Per-merchant terms (T+1, T+2, custom).
In flight
Disputes · lifecycle
Chargehound
Automated representment + manual workflow. Per-scheme rules applied.
Roadmap
What this blueprint is and isn’t

Honest about the build.

The work this blueprint represents

Acquiring is operationally heavier than any other fintech business shape. Merchants expect terminals to work on day one. Disputes are scheme-rulebook-defined and unforgiving. Settlement reconciliation is the single most expensive operational line item. Klyqo doesn’t reduce the operational weight; it makes the technology side composable so your team focuses on the operations, not on integration debt.

What you bring: the acquirer licence, the scheme membership, the merchant acquisition motion, the operations team. What Klyqo brings: the runtime, the PAX-native terminal adapter, the gateway adapters per region, the merchant onboarding template, the settlement reconciliation flow. What we figure out together: which terminal SKUs for your merchant profile, which gateway per geography, what the disputes-handling SLA looks like for your scheme rulebook.

If you’re an acquirer expanding into card-present or a PSP launching a new geography: talk to us before you commit to a terminal vendor who locks you in.

Building an acquiring operation?

If you’re a PSP, acquirer, or merchant aggregator launching or expanding, the first conversation is short. Tell us about the geography, the merchant profile, the terminal volume, the licensing posture. We’ll tell you what the PAX integration looks like and where Klyqo absorbs the operational sprawl.

Email diogo@klyqo.com Response within two business days