The global payment processing industry is poised for unprecedented growth in 2025, driven by the rapid expansion of e-commerce, cross-border transactions, and the advent of advanced payment management technologies.
Whether you want to enter this lucrative space or you’re looking for more in-depth information, take your time and read through the step-by-step guide on how to become a payment processor.
What Is a Payment Processor?
The payment processor is one of the key intermediaries within the financial ecosystem. They secure payment data and act as the middleman to enable customer, business, and bank transactions. This is a way of letting companies receive credit card and debit card transactions, e-wallets, and other payments. From authorization through fraud detection to settlement, they play a key role in enabling fast, smooth, and efficient financial transactions.
Why Start a Payment Processing Business?
Setting up your payment processor is an ambitious goal, and proper preparation should be carried out with knowledge of the market and technological capabilities in place. This covers the development of reliable infrastructure, establishing trusting relationships with financial partners, and assurance of the highest standard of security. Here are some key steps to help you enter this market and build a successful payment processing business:
Growing Market
The global payment processing market was valued at $90 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% through 2028. The expansion of e-commerce and the adoption of digital payments fuel this growth.
High Revenue Potential
Payment processors stand to gain substantial revenue through transaction fees, setup fees, and value-added services. Even with modest fees, the high transaction volumes in this industry can lead to significant profits, offering a promising outlook for your business.
Scalable Business Model
Payment processing is not just profitable but also highly scalable. As your merchant base expands, your revenue will grow proportionally, offering a reassuring path to growth in this industry.
Challenges of Becoming a Payment Processor
Setting up a payment processor is a highly complex and challenging task. It requires strict security measures, advanced technologies, and staying competitive. The biggest hurdles range from strict regulatory requirements to the need for a unique value proposition in an already saturated market.
Here are some of the key challenges to becoming a successful payment processor:
Regulatory Compliance
As a payment processor, you must adhere to strict regulations such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), AML (Anti-Money Laundering), and KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements. This commitment to compliance is a serious responsibility that requires ongoing investment and expertise.
Technological Barriers
Creating a secure and efficient payment gateway requires advanced technology and a robust infrastructure.
Competition in the Market
Giants like PayPal, Stripe, and Square dominate the industry. To succeed, newcomers need to find their own niche.
Steps to Becoming a Payment Processor
Building a payment processor is an ambitious task that requires thorough preparation and market knowledge, coupled with a technological approach. This involves developing infrastructure, establishing trust relationships with financial partners, and ensuring the highest standards of security.
Herein come the key steps to help you enter this market and build up a successful payment processing business.
Research and Planning
Research the market to understand your target audience, competitors, and trends. Identify your target niche, such as e-commerce, subscription services, or high-risk industries.
Obtain the necessary licenses
Obtain licenses that will allow you to operate legally in your chosen jurisdiction, like money transmitter (MTL) licenses in the United States or their equivalent in other countries.
Build a payment gateway
Develop a robust payment gateway that handles multiple payment methods, data security, and fraud protection.
Establish relationships with banks and card networks
Work with acquiring banks and card networks such as Visa and Mastercard to ensure smooth transactions.
Implement fraud prevention measures
Integrate security systems to minimize the risk of chargebacks and other fraudulent transactions.
Build a White-Label Solution
Consider ready-made White-Label solutions to quickly launch your business by customizing them to fit your brand.
Promote your services
Develop a marketing strategy that highlights the uniqueness of your offering and attracts merchants.
How Much Does It Cost to Become a Payment Processor?
The cost of becoming a payment processor is a tricky question with no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on multiple factors, including business model, region, technology choices, and compliance requirements.
However, approximate estimates look like this:
Initial Setup Costs
- Licensing and Legal Fees: $50,000–$100,000
- Technology Development: $100,000–$500,000 (if built in-house)
- Infrastructure: $20,000–$50,000
Ongoing Costs
- Compliance and Audit: $10,000–$50,000 annually
- Operating Costs: $50,000–$150,000 annually
- Marketing: $10,000–$30,000 annually
What is a White-Label Payment Gateway?
Building your payment processing solution from scratch is expensive and time-consuming. Developing a secure, scalable, and fully compliant system requires significant investment in infrastructure, compliance, and ongoing maintenance. However, there’s an alternative: a White-Label Payment Gateway.
A White-Label Payment Gateway is a ready-made, fully functional payment processing system that businesses can rebrand and offer under their own name. Instead of spending years developing a proprietary gateway, companies can license an existing solution, customize it to fit their brand identity, and launch within weeks—without dealing with software development and compliance complexities.
How Does White-Label Work?
A White-Label solution comes pre-built with all the essential features, including:
- Payment Processing Capabilities: Support for credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and alternative payment methods.
- Fraud Prevention & Security: PCI DSS compliance, encryption, and real-time fraud detection tools.
- Merchant Management: A dashboard for onboarding, reporting, and managing transactions.
- Integration Flexibility: APIs, SDKs, and hosted payment pages for seamless connectivity.
Since the system is already developed and tested, businesses can skip the heavy lifting of compliance certifications (such as PCI DSS) and regulatory approvals and focus instead on growing their brand and merchant base.
Why Choose a White-Label Payment Gateway?
There are a few main reasons for this:
- Faster Time to Market – No need for custom development; launch within weeks.
- Significant Cost Savings – Avoid high R&D and compliance costs.
- Scalability & Reliability – Use a system built on proven technology.
- Complete Branding Control – Customize the UI, URL, and branding elements.
- Instant Access to Multiple Payment Methods – No need for separate integrations.
A White-Label Payment Gateway is the most efficient and cost-effective solution for businesses looking to enter the payment industry without the burden of development and compliance.
Akurateco: An Ultimate White-Label Payment Solution
Akurateco is a leading white-label payment gateway provider offering over 450 ready-to-use payment connectors. These connectors allow businesses to instantly access a vast network of global and local payment methods. This extensive connectivity ensures seamless payment acceptance worldwide, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming individual integrations.
Beyond its robust network, Akurateco provides a cutting-edge suite of payment technologies designed to optimize transaction performance, enhance security, and maximize revenue:
- Intelligent Payment Routing – Automatically selects the most efficient payment path based on success rates, fees, and geo-preferences, increasing approval rates and reducing processing costs.
- Smart Transaction Cascading & Retries – Minimizes declines by intelligently reprocessing failed transactions through alternative payment channels without merchant intervention.
- Network Tokenization – Enhances security and boosts conversion rates by replacing sensitive card data with secure, reusable tokens across multiple payment providers.
- Mobile SDKs—Enable seamless in-app payments for iOS and Android, ensuring a smooth checkout experience with built-in fraud protection.
- AI-Powered Fraud Prevention – Leverages machine learning algorithms to detect real-time suspicious activity, reducing chargebacks and fraudulent transactions.
- Comprehensive Analytics & Reporting – Provides deep insights into transaction flows, payment performance, and customer behavior with customizable dashboards and automated reports.
- Subscription & Recurring Billing—This service supports automated payments for subscription-based businesses, offering flexible billing cycles and retry mechanisms to reduce involuntary churn.
- 3D Secure 2.0 & Risk Scoring – Enhances security and compliance with frictionless authentication, reducing fraud while maintaining a seamless user experience.
With its scalable architecture, compliance-ready infrastructure, and robust feature set, Akurateco empowers businesses to run high-performing, fully branded payment processing operations with minimal effort and maximum efficiency.
Conclusion
The payment industry in 2025 presents enormous opportunities for businesses looking to enter the market. With digital payments continuing to dominate global commerce and the demand for seamless, secure transactions growing, launching a payment processing business has never been more promising. However, breaking into this space is far from simple.
To become a fully operational payment processor, businesses must navigate strict regulatory requirements, ensuring compliance with PCI DSS, AML, and KYC standards. Developing the necessary technology and infrastructure requires significant investment, from building a reliable gateway to implementing fraud prevention, smart transaction routing, and multi-currency support. Additionally, establishing relationships with acquiring banks and financial institutions is a complex and resource-intensive. The industry is already highly competitive, making differentiation and a strong value proposition essential for success.
While these challenges can be overwhelming, businesses can dramatically simplify the process by leveraging a White-Label Payment Gateway like Akurateco. Instead of building everything from scratch, a ready-to-use, fully compliant, and scalable platform allows companies to launch their own branded payment processing service without the heavy lifting. With over 450+ pre-integrated payment connectors, AI-powered fraud prevention, intelligent routing, and advanced subscription billing, Akurateco provides everything needed to run a high-performance payment business—allowing you to focus on scaling and acquiring customers rather than dealing with technical and regulatory hurdles.
FAQ
How do I become a payment processor?
To become a payment processor, research your market, obtain licenses, establish or build a payment gateway, establish banking relationships, and ensure compliance.
How much does a payment processor make?
Revenue varies but typically includes setup fees, transaction fees (1-3% of transaction value), and additional services. Successful processors can earn millions per year.
How much does it cost to become a payment processor?
Initial setup costs range from $200,000 to $700,000, covering compliance, infrastructure, and marketing expenses. If you choose to develop a payment system from scratch, you’ll need significant investments in technology, security, and regulatory approvals, which can take years to implement. However, opting for a White-Label Payment Gateway dramatically reduces both costs and time to market. With a ready-made, fully compliant solution like Akurateco, businesses can launch their payment processing operations at a fraction of the cost, skipping lengthy development cycles and focusing on growth instead.
