an article written by Symphopay
In the past decade, the acquiring business has quietly become a victim of its own success. The more efficient and reliable it grew, the more it came to be seen as a utility, an invisible infrastructure that simply makes transactions work. Margins have eroded, regulatory pressures have increased, and acquirers have found themselves competing on price rather than value.
At the same time, the payments landscape has changed dramatically. Global acquirers, powered by technology, data, and unified platforms, are now offering large retailers a single, global acceptance experience. From Starbucks to McDonald’s, from Deichmann to Uber, many global brands are consolidating their acquiring partnerships in favour of global providers, to benefit from one contract, one API, one global view.
For local acquirers and domestic banks, this trend poses an existential question:
How do you compete when your best merchants can be moved to a global platform overnight?
Banks as Platforms and Now, as Enablers
Banks have always been platforms, aggregating products, services, and trust for millions of customers.
The next step is to extend this role outward, transforming their acquiring and payments businesses into open platforms that connect merchants, integrators, and value, added services. Payments then become not just a product, but a catalyst for an entire ecosystem.
In this new model, banks evolve from providers to enablers. Instead of trying to control every product, they provide the infrastructure, APIs, and data rails that allow partners, acquirers, fintechs, and ISVs, to innovate on top of their foundation.
Platformisation is, therefore, not just a technological shift; it’s a strategic one. It moves banks from owning the value chain to orchestrating the ecosystem and that’s where growth will come from.
What the Big Consultancies Are Saying
McKinsey & Company
“Banks and payment providers that reimagine themselves as ecosystem enablers, offering open, integrated payment and data services — can expand relevance in a fragmented market.”
Global Payments Report 2024
McKinsey’s analysis shows that while global payments revenue pools remain high (over $2.4 trillion in 2024), profitability increasingly depends on data, embedded services, and partnerships. Pure transaction processing is under pressure; orchestration and analytics are where future margins will reside.
PwC
“The next generation of payments leaders will build platform, based ecosystems that empower partners and merchants rather than merely process transactions.”
Payments 2025 and Beyond
PwC’s findings reinforce that digital payments growth will not be evenly distributed.
Those who open their infrastructure to partners, instead of defending closed silos, will capture the most durable growth.
Deloitte
“Platformisation is redefining value chains in payments, banks are shifting from product ownership to capability enablement.”
Payments Trends 2023
Deloitte calls this the API Economy of Payments, where banks can monetize trust and compliance by exposing their capabilities through secure, partner, friendly interfaces.
The Strategic Translation
Platformisation allows banks and acquirers to:
“As acquiring becomes a utility, local acquirers must evolve into platforms, connecting payments, data, and engagement. Platformisation isn’t just survival; it’s the new growth engine.”
The Takeaway
The winners in the next decade won’t be those who own the most terminals or process the most transactions. They’ll be the ones who enable ecosystems, who turn payments into a bridge between banks, merchants, and customers.
For banks, that means embracing their natural role as enablers: trusted platforms that connect, empower, and orchestrate. And for local acquirers, it’s an invitation to step up — to integrate, partner, and redefine the payments experience far beyond acceptance.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„To be honest I think that Sinaia, your conference, is much better then Davos.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
