Does a routing layer replace the acquirer?

No. Acquirers and PSPs still authorize, capture and settle the transactions. The routing layer decides which of them handles each payment, applies fallback rules when one fails, and normalizes the results. The operator keeps its acquiring relationships and adds or removes providers without changing its merchants' integration.

Different roles

An acquirer holds the scheme license, authorizes and captures transactions, settles funds and carries the compliance and financial risk. A routing layer sits above acquirers and PSPs: it decides which one handles each payment, applies fallback rules when an attempt fails, and normalizes responses so the operator reads the same data whatever the provider.

What stays with acquirers

• The merchant agreement or sponsorship.
• Authorization, clearing and settlement.
• Scheme compliance and monitoring programs.
• Pricing of interchange, scheme fees and markup.

What the routing layer adds

Choice and resilience. The operator keeps its acquiring relationships and adds or removes providers without changing its merchants' integration. It can move volume between acquirers when pricing or performance changes, and recover failed payments on a second provider. The layer also gives the operator one transaction record across providers, which is what makes reconciliation and reporting consistent. An acquirer is a counterparty; the routing layer is the operator's control over which counterparty gets which transaction.

In short, the acquirer remains the party that moves the money and answers to the schemes, and the routing layer is the operator’s control over which acquirer does it for each transaction.