About Acquiris

Welcome to Acquiris!

Acquiris a.i.s.b.l. is a payment terminal specification provider and the C-TAP certification body within the SEPA region. In close co-operation with stakeholders, Acquiris keeps the C-TAP (Common Terminal Acquiring Protocol) specifications in line with market demands and technological developments. The certification process guarantees to all parties in the payment value chain that deployed terminals are in conformity with the specifications. Acquiris is a not-for-profit, independent, membership driven organization with an open Governance.

Are you an acquirer and do you want to provide acquiring services to merchants for all the brands you process in multiple countries with a single terminal (a terminal that the merchant might already have) without interference with other brands you do not process?

Are you a merchant and do you want to accept multiple card brands with the acquirers of your choice on a single terminal? Do you operate in multiple countries with a single terminal specification ?

About Organisation

A dedicated organisation

Acquiris is a dedicated organization built around the following principles:
Member based organization (acquirers, processors, vendors, stakeholders)
Membership gives access to specification licenses
No license charges
Cost sharing
Open governance
Central management of essential data
Active Members

members of Acquiris

This page lists the current members of Acquiris, their role and membership type. Possible roles are Sender of C-TAP transactions (terminal vendor (TV)), Receiver of C-TAP transactions (Acquirer Host/Processor (AH), and other Stakeholder (OS).

C-TAP Specifications

Common Terminal Acquirer Protocol

C-TAP is the abbreviation of Common Terminal Acquirer Protocol. The C-TAP specifications describe:

The exchange of information with payment cards of various technology and how these cards are recognized

The detailed flow for various types of transaction processing

The association of a recognized card with an acquirer that will authorize and settle the transaction

The data exchange with this processor

The message and information processing requirement at the acquirers’ host system

Certifications

The Terminal Certification

Acquiris controls the certification process for the payment terminals adhering to the present C-TAP specifications.

The Terminal Certification Procedure provides an increasing level of confidence to Terminal Vendors and Acquirers/Acquirers Processors that the certified terminal adheres to the Multi Card Brand / Multi Acquirer principles of the SEPA-wide C-TAP specifications while providing an uniform and consistent cardholder and merchant experience. An overview of this certification procedure can be found below.

Typical payment terminal configurations accept EMV smart cards; magnetic stripe cards and provide contactless payment solutions.

Certified Terminals

Acquiris certifies payment terminals

Acquiris certifies payment terminals for their compliance with the C-TAP specifications as approved by the Acquiris members and the specification updates that have been published in addition to these specifications.
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    2022 C-TAP Key Figures

    C-TAP as payment terminal specification is deployed on 609.000 payment terminals across 20 European countries. In 2022 these C-TAP terminals

    C-TAP version 11.0 Released

    C-TAP v11.0 specifications have been released in November 2021 and were endorsed at the Acquiris General Assembly. The C-TAP community