Acquired.com Review: Payment Gateway for UK Businesses (2026)

Acquired.com is a UK-based payment gateway and direct acquirer founded in 2015, built for mid-market and enterprise businesses that process high card volumes or operate in complex payment environments. It holds FCA authorisation as a payment institution (FRN: 910612) and combines acquiring and gateway services under one contract. Indicative transaction fees start from around 0.4% for UK consumer debit cards and 0.75% for UK consumer credit cards under interchange-plus pricing, though all rates are individually negotiated. The platform is API-first and suits businesses processing at least £500,000 a year in card payments. It is not designed for start-ups or sole traders.

Key Facts: Acquired.com UK

Who Is This Page For?

Acquired.com is built for medium to large UK businesses that process substantial card volumes and need more than a plug-and-play payment page. The typical customer is an ecommerce retailer, subscription business, marketplace, or financial services firm turning over at least £500,000 a year in card payments. At that scale, even a 0.1% reduction in processing costs saves £500 per £500,000 in volume, so the negotiated pricing model becomes genuinely worthwhile.

The platform suits businesses with in-house development resource. Its API-first architecture means your developers can embed payment flows directly into your application rather than redirecting customers to a hosted page. That matters for businesses where checkout experience directly affects conversion, particularly in subscription billing, travel, and digital goods.

Small businesses, sole traders, and anyone processing under around £100,000 a year in card payments should look elsewhere. Providers such as Stripe, Square, or SumUp offer published, transparent pricing with no minimum volumes and far quicker onboarding. Acquired.com's onboarding process is thorough and takes longer, reflecting its focus on more complex merchant accounts.

What Is Acquired.com?

Acquired.com is a UK payment institution that acts as both a payment gateway and a direct acquirer. That means it both processes your card transactions and settles funds into your bank account, rather than routing payments through a third-party acquirer. The company was founded in 2015, is headquartered in the UK, and is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference number 910612. Its platform is designed around an API-first architecture, with built-in support for open banking payments, multi-currency processing, recurring billing, and advanced fraud screening. Businesses that search for "acquired limited", "acquired payments", or "acquired.com" are typically looking at the same entity: Acquired.com Ltd, registered in England and Wales.

Acquired.com Features

• Fully integrated acquiring and gateway: Acquired.com acts as both the acquirer and gateway, so funds flow through a single provider. This removes the need to manage separate contracts and can reduce per-transaction costs compared to using a third-party gateway on top of an acquirer.
• API-first payment gateway: A modern REST API allows developers to build customised payment flows, handle tokenisation, and manage recurring billing without redirecting customers away from your site or app.
• Multi-currency processing: Acquired.com supports over 150 currencies, settling in the major ones including GBP, EUR, and USD. This is useful for UK businesses selling internationally who want to display and charge in local currencies.
• Open banking payments: The platform includes a native open banking payment option, letting customers pay directly from their bank account. This can reduce transaction costs compared with card payments and removes chargeback risk on those transactions.
• Recurring billing and tokenisation: Built-in subscription management and card tokenisation let businesses store payment credentials securely and charge customers on a schedule without requiring them to re-enter card details.
• 3D Secure 2 and advanced fraud tools: Acquired.com includes 3DS2 authentication and configurable fraud screening rules. Merchants can set custom rules based on transaction value, geography, or velocity to manage risk without blocking legitimate payments.
• Virtual terminal and MOTO payments: A browser-based virtual terminal allows telephone and mail order (MOTO) payments to be processed manually, useful for businesses that take orders by phone. You can read more about MOTO payment processing in our MOTO payments guide for UK businesses.
• Dedicated account management: Unlike self-serve providers, Acquired.com assigns a named account manager to each merchant. That means you have a direct contact for disputes, technical issues, and pricing reviews rather than a support ticket queue.

Acquired.com Fees and Pricing

Acquired.com does not publish a standard rate card. All pricing is negotiated based on your business type, monthly volume, card mix, and chargeback history. This is standard practice for a direct acquirer at this market level, but it does mean you cannot get an instant comparison without contacting the sales team.

Based on publicly available information and industry benchmarks, indicative rates for UK merchants tend to start from around 0.4% plus interchange for UK consumer debit cards and around 0.75% plus interchange for UK consumer credit cards under interchange-plus pricing. Blended rates, where a single percentage covers all card types, are also available and may suit merchants who prefer billing predictability over lowest cost. For UK and European personal Visa and Mastercard cards, interchange fees set by the card schemes are capped at 0.2% for debit and 0.3% for credit under UK regulation, so the total cost under interchange-plus pricing reflects those caps plus Acquired.com's margin. Our guide to interchange-plus versus blended pricing explains how to compare the two models before requesting a quote.

There is typically a monthly platform or gateway fee, the exact figure depending on the services contracted. Setup fees, PCI compliance fees, and chargeback fees are all negotiated at contract stage. You should ask for an itemised quote that separates interchange, scheme fees, and the acquirer's own margin. This makes it easier to compare like-for-like against other providers. Compare Card Fees can help you do exactly that at no charge.

For context on what the savings look like at scale: a business processing £2 million a year and moving from a blended rate of 1.5% to an effective interchange-plus rate of 0.9% would save around £12,000 annually. That makes the longer onboarding process and contract commitment worthwhile for the right business. Our guide to negotiating card processing fees covers the specific questions to ask before signing any contract.

Acquired.com Pros and Cons

Pros

• FCA-authorised UK payment institution, not a third-party reseller — funds are held under UK regulatory oversight.
• Combined acquiring and gateway in one contract simplifies reconciliation and can reduce overall processing costs at higher volumes.
• Interchange-plus pricing is available, giving full transparency over scheme costs versus the provider's margin.
• Native open banking payments reduce processing costs on eligible transactions and eliminate chargeback exposure on those payments.
• Dedicated account management means real human support rather than automated ticketing, which matters when a payment issue affects revenue.
• API-first architecture suits businesses with development resource who want tight control over the checkout experience.

Cons

• No published pricing — you cannot compare costs without going through a sales conversation, which slows down the evaluation process.
• Contract terms of 12–36 months with negotiated exit clauses mean switching mid-contract can be costly. Always ask for the early termination fee in writing before signing. Our guide to early termination fees in merchant contracts explains what to look for.
• Onboarding takes longer than self-serve providers. Underwriting for complex or higher-risk merchant categories can take several weeks.
• Not suitable for very small businesses — the platform's complexity and minimum volume expectations make it poor value for merchants processing under £100,000 a year.
• Hardware options for in-person payments are limited compared with providers such as Dojo or Takepayments, which focus heavily on physical terminals.

Is Acquired.com Trusted and Regulated?

Acquired.com Ltd is authorised as a payment institution by the Financial Conduct Authority, with FCA reference number 910612. This is a meaningful regulatory status. It means Acquired.com must safeguard merchant funds separately from its own capital, follow the Payment Services Regulations 2017, and report to the FCA. It is not a reseller building on another provider's licence. You can verify its FCA status directly on the Financial Services Register at fca.org.uk. The company processes payments for established businesses across ecommerce, financial services, transport, and subscription sectors in the UK and Europe. Its status as a direct acquirer, rather than a payment service provider aggregating merchants under a master account, means your business has its own dedicated merchant account and is not subject to the account suspension risk that can affect merchants using aggregated PSPs.

Acquired.com vs Competitors

The table below compares Acquired.com against two of the most frequently evaluated alternatives at different business sizes. Pricing shown for Stripe is the published standard rate as of August 2026. Acquired.com rates are indicative only.

Stripe suits smaller, growing businesses that value transparent self-serve pricing and no contract lock-in. Adyen is the closest direct competitor to Acquired.com in terms of market positioning, though Adyen enforces a minimum monthly invoice that can make it expensive for businesses below a certain processing threshold. Acquired.com positions itself as more flexible for mid-market UK merchants who want a direct acquirer relationship without the enterprise minimum billing requirements that Adyen applies. You can read a fuller side-by-side comparison on our Acquired.com vs Stripe page.

Is Acquired.com Right for Your Business?

Acquired.com is a credible, FCA-regulated acquirer and gateway for UK businesses that have outgrown entry-level providers. If you are processing over £500,000 a year in card payments, running a subscription model, or operating across multiple currencies, the negotiated pricing and integrated stack could deliver meaningful savings and operational simplicity. A business processing £2 million a year in card payments and moving from a blended rate of 1.5% to an interchange-plus model at an effective rate of 0.9% would save around £12,000 annually, which makes the longer onboarding process worthwhile.

That said, Acquired.com is not the right fit for every business. If you need a terminal on the counter tomorrow, transparent self-serve pricing, or a month-to-month contract, you will find more suitable options. The lack of published rates also makes independent cost comparison harder, which is a genuine inconvenience during the buying process. If you are unsure whether your business volume justifies the switch, our guide on when to switch payment provider covers the key triggers to watch for.

Updated August 2026.