Define the product precisely
Custody, non-custodial swaps, an exchange, a wallet and a NFT marketplace are not the same underwriting case. Providers price and approve them differently.
Find Payment Providers for Your Crypto Business
Crypto acceptance depends on what the customer receives. On-ramps selling digital assets, custodial exchanges and crypto-adjacent SaaS are underwritten as three different risk profiles.
Payment challenges in Crypto
- Fiat on-ramps sell an instantly transferable asset, so acquirers focus heavily on AML controls and irreversibility of the delivered product.
- Registration and licensing expectations (VASP, MSB or equivalent) vary by country and are usually a precondition rather than a preference.
- Card deposits into crypto attract first-party fraud claims, so 3-D Secure, transaction limits and identity checks are scrutinised.
- Settlement can be complicated when the business holds treasury in crypto but needs fiat settlement into a bank account.
What to consider when choosing a PSP or acquirer
Show your AML and KYC stack
Name the providers you use for identity verification and chain analytics, and how you handle sanctions screening. This is often the deciding factor.
Confirm the fiat settlement path
Check which bank accounts and currencies a provider can settle to, and whether your banking partner accepts crypto-related inflows.
Set limits by verification tier
Per-transaction and per-day limits that scale with verification level reduce disputes and make underwriting significantly easier.
Know how card schemes treat crypto purchases
Buying crypto with a card is a quasi-cash transaction. Visa requires crypto purchases to use MCC 6051, or 6012 for financial institutions, with the quasi-cash indicator, and lists 6051 as a high-integrity-risk code. Mastercard identifies crypto merchants on MCC 6051 and runs a registration for them, so only acquirers set up for that registration can board you.
Crypto payment processing by licence
MiCA licence (EU crypto)
How MiCA-authorised crypto firms get card acquiring and fiat payments: what changed when the transition ended, the PSD2 question and what acquirers check.
Electronic money institution (EMI)
What an EMI licence allows, how it differs from a payment institution, the safeguarding rules and what acquirers check before boarding an EMI.
What providers assess in your application
- Business model
- On-ramp, exchange, wallet, custody or crypto-adjacent service.
- Licensing
- VASP, MSB or local registration, plus the jurisdictions it covers.
- Compliance stack
- KYC, sanctions screening and blockchain analytics you already run.
- Customer geography
- Markets served and those excluded by policy or licence.
- Ticket size
- Average and maximum purchase, and how limits scale by verification tier.
- Settlement
- Fiat currencies, settlement bank and payout frequency you require.
Provider suitability differs from business to business: two companies in the same industry can receive opposite answers because of licence, market mix, ticket size or dispute history. We do not state that a provider accepts an industry unless that provider has confirmed it, and no one can guarantee approval.
Check which routes may fit your business
Provider fit in Crypto depends on more than the industry itself: licence, markets, volume and dispute history all change the answer. Answer four questions to start checking your own situation.
Four questions about your business
Industry, company country, customer markets and estimated monthly volume, that is all we need to begin.
Common questions about Crypto payments
Do you need a licence to accept card payments for crypto?
In most markets, yes, and acquirers treat it as a precondition. In the EU, crypto-asset service providers need authorisation under MiCA, which has applied since 30 December 2024; the transitional period for existing firms ended on 1 July 2026. In the UK, cryptoasset businesses must be registered with the FCA under the money laundering regulations. In the US, exchangers are money transmitters and must register with FinCEN as money services businesses.
What is the travel rule and why does it matter for payments?
Since 30 December 2024, the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation requires crypto-asset service providers to send and check information about the originator and beneficiary of crypto transfers. Acquirers ask how you comply because it is part of the AML picture behind every card purchase you process.
Are there rules on how crypto can be marketed?
In the UK, financial promotion rules for cryptoassets have applied since 8 October 2023, including a 24-hour cooling-off period for first-time investors with a firm. Acquirers review your sign-up and purchase funnel, so make sure it reflects the rules in each market you serve.
How does Ecompayer help crypto businesses?
Add your business model, licences, compliance tooling, markets and volumes once in our online application. We match you with a payment provider that accepts your type of crypto business, and your account is prepared so you can start processing.
Other industries
iGaming
iGaming acceptance is decided almost entirely by licensing and player geography. A provider that boards a Curaçao-licensed casino is rarely the same one that boards a UKGC-licensed brand, so the first step is matching your licence and markets to an acquirer's gambling programme.
Forex & CFD
Trading platforms are underwritten on regulatory status and client geography. A regulated brokerage in a recognised jurisdiction has a materially different provider pool than an offshore entity taking retail clients worldwide.
Adult
Adult businesses are processed under specific card-scheme programmes with mandatory content controls. Approval depends on documented compliance far more than on pricing negotiation.
Find payment providers for your Crypto business
Add your business essentials once. Your profile is compared against provider criteria, and nothing is sent until you submit your onboarding pack.
Check my payment optionsNothing is shared with a provider until you submit your onboarding pack. Approval is always the provider's decision.