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The Players in the Payments Ecosystem (Issuer, Acquirer, Scheme, Processor, Gateway)
The payments ecosystem is made up of five key players, each performing a crucial function in moving money securely from one point to another.
Issuers are banks or regulated institutions that provide cards to consumers and handle authorisation, funding, and fraud checks. Acquirers are the banks or entities that enable merchants to accept card payments, ensuring the merchant gets paid. The Scheme (such as Mastercard or Visa) acts as the central network, setting the rules, routing transactions, and maintaining trust between issuers and acquirers. A Processor provides the technology layer that handles the transaction data, verifying, authorising, and settling payments in real time. Finally, the Gateway is the digital bridge between the merchant and the payment network, encrypting and forwarding transaction details securely.
Monavate fits across this entire value chain. As a principal member of multiple schemes, Monavate acts as both issuer and acquirer, while also providing processing capabilities through its cloud-native platform. Its APIs replace the need for multiple third-party vendors, allowing clients, from fintechs to enterprise partners, to issue, process, and manage payments within one compliant ecosystem. In short, Monavate connects every part of the payment flow, helping partners launch and scale financial products faster, smarter, and with full regulatory confidence.