A payment processor is the company that moves a card transaction - and its money - between the merchant, the customer's issuing bank and the merchant's acquiring bank. It takes the encrypted transaction from the payment gateway, routes the authorisation request to the banks, and makes sure funds are debited and settled correctly. In one line: the gateway carries the data, the processor moves the money.
When a buyer pays, the processor receives the encrypted details from the gateway, asks the issuing bank to approve the charge, relays the approve-or-decline back, and then coordinates settlement so the money lands in the merchant's account. It is the routing and clearing engine of the transaction. Versapay's guide describes the processor as the layer that receives transaction details from the gateway, then authorises and processes them.
Three roles, often muddled. The gateway captures and secures the card data at checkout. The processor authorises and routes the transaction. The acquirer (acquiring bank) holds the merchant account and settles the funds. A payment flow starts at the gateway, moves to the processor, and reaches the acquirer, as FreedomPay lays out. Some vendors combine two or three of these, which is why the labels blur in marketing.
A payment facilitator is not a processor - it sits on top of one. The PayFac holds a single master merchant account and onboards many sub-merchants beneath it, taking on underwriting and risk so each business goes live in minutes rather than weeks. Industry sources note the key difference in liability: payment facilitators assume greater financial risk on behalf of sub-merchants, whereas a bare processor pushes that risk to the merchant. That is the difference between wiring up plumbing yourself and turning on a tap.
You do not want to select a processor, bolt on a gateway, and open an acquiring account as three separate projects. paas.build is a productised PayFac on UniPaaS (an FCA-authorised Payment Institution, No. 929994) that bundles all of it: processing, gateway, your own sub-merchant account and payouts at 3.9% flat. One prompt, live the same day via progressive KYB, no company needed - and you stay the merchant of record, so the money settles to you.
The gateway captures and encrypts the card data at checkout and hands it off; the processor authorises the transaction and moves the funds between the issuing and acquiring banks. Both are needed for every online card payment - the gateway carries the data, the processor moves the money.
Not quite. The acquiring bank holds the merchant account and ultimately settles funds; the processor is the technology and routing layer that authorises transactions and passes them to the acquirer. Some companies do both, but they are distinct roles.
No. A payment facilitator sits on top of a processor and an acquirer. It holds one master merchant account and onboards many sub-merchants beneath it, absorbing underwriting and risk so those businesses go live fast. paas.build is a productised PayFac, not a bare processor.
No. paas.build bundles the processor, gateway, your sub-merchant account and payouts into one flat 3.9% on the FCA-authorised UniPaaS platform. There is no separate processor to contract or integrate - one prompt and you are live.