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The regulatory reality check
Brexit fundamentally rewrote the UK’s payment regulations. Acquirers must now ensure they are authorised to provide services both in the UK and the EU—a requirement that many providers initially underestimated.
Post-Brexit, providers can no longer rely on a single licence to operate across both regions. While most major payment providers are taking steps to comply, this means UK merchants currently relying on EU-authorised acquirers must be migrated to a UK-authorised entity by the end of 2025 to remain compliant.
Failure to do so could result in merchants being unable to accept payments, causing serious service disruption and revenue loss.
This situation also highlights a deeper issue: the risks of a fragmented payment setup. Relying on multiple providers for different elements of the payment stack creates operational friction, with duplicated fees, disjointed reporting, and time wasted managing separate contracts.
The multi-vendor money drain
The typical payments setup appears logical: a gateway from Provider A, an acquirer from Provider B, and currency conversion from Provider C. In practice, this fragmentation creates expensive inefficiencies that compound over time.
Support coordination involves managing various vendors, establishing escalation procedures, and resolving issues when transactions fail.
Multiple providers create overlapping charges and hidden fees without cost transparency. Fragmented reporting extends reconciliation processes compared to unified platforms, while each vendor demands separate API management and technical resources.
The alternative approach is working with one provider for full-stack payments, which helps businesses navigate and future-proof against compliance and regulatory changes, while gaining operational efficiencies, saving money and opening new revenue streams.
The full-stack payment advantage
Modern full-stack solutions integrate gateway services, acquiring capabilities, and revenue-generating features into unified platforms, with one provider, eliminating the need to coordinate with multiple vendors.
Working with a single provider creates operational and cost efficiencies. Businesses have one point of contact for support and a tailored solution to suit the merchant’s needs.
Working with a payments service provider that offers gateway, acquiring and currency conversion solutions gives businesses the ability to better serve international customers while opening new revenue streams.
The most effective solutions integrate effortlessly with existing software systems, supporting major POS, PMS and e-commerce platforms without requiring costly reintegration. This approach enables organisations to upgrade their payment capabilities while maintaining their existing operational workflows.
Technology integration that eliminates operational complexity
The difference between true integration and multi-vendor solutions becomes apparent when businesses need to scale across channels and markets.
With one provider businesses also benefit from unified reporting, providing business intelligence from a single platform, eliminating the need for manual data correlation across multiple vendor systems.
Direct integration with leading business platforms removes custom development overhead while ensuring consistent performance across all operational channels.
Strategic positioning beyond compliance
Current regulatory changes expose fundamental weaknesses in traditional payment stack approaches. While the market offers various solutions, comprehensive solutions address both immediate compliance needs and long-term competitive positioning.
Working with an authorised payments services provider gives you the peace of mind for long-term stability and reliability when it comes to taking payments.
A full-stack solution creates cost efficiencies that scale, while giving businesses one point of contact for support and account management. With the right payment services provider, businesses can turn payments into a strategic tool to grow beyond borders and into different markets.
Ready to transform your payments strategy?
The compliance change in the UK has highlighted the need for businesses to work with the right payment services provider to future-proof and grow.
Full-stack payment platforms transform this market shift from compliance crisis into strategic opportunity, consolidating costs, generating revenue, and future-proofing operations in one move.
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