If you sell online from Georgia, sooner or later you need a way to take a customer’s card and turn it into money in your account. That capability is called acquiring, and getting it set up well is one of the quieter — but more important — parts of launching a digital business here. Georgiafy helps businesses that want to accept online payments in Georgia — getting you a merchant account and payment gateway through a Georgian bank or licensed provider, and connecting the company, banking and integration into one clean setup. This page explains what acquiring involves and where we fit in.

If instead you want to become a licensed payment provider rather than just accept payments, see our PSP licence service.

What “acquiring” means, and who needs it

Acquiring is the service that lets a merchant accept card payments. In practice it combines two things: a merchant account (where the funds settle) and a payment gateway (the technology that captures the card details on your website or app and routes the transaction securely). When a customer pays, the gateway passes the transaction to the acquirer — typically a Georgian bank or a licensed payment service provider — which processes it through the card networks and settles the money to you.

Almost any business selling without face-to-face cash needs acquiring of some kind:

• E-commerce stores selling physical goods that need card-not-present checkout.
• Marketplaces and platforms that collect payments and pay out to multiple sellers.
• SaaS and subscription businesses that bill recurring card payments.
• Service providers taking deposits or invoices online rather than in cash.

The right setup depends on what you sell, how much foreign-card volume you expect, and how your business is structured. The sections below walk through what accepting payments as a merchant involves and how we help you get approved.

Getting set up to accept payments

This is the everyday case: you run — or are launching — a Georgian business and you simply want customers to pay by card on your site. Here you are the merchant. You don’t need a payment licence of your own; you need a merchant account and a gateway, which you obtain through a Georgian bank or a licensed payment service provider. Major Georgian banks such as TBC and Bank of Georgia offer e-commerce acquiring, and several licensed providers offer gateways as well.

The practical steps are: have a registered Georgian company (or individual entrepreneur) with a business bank account, apply to the acquirer for a merchant account, pass their onboarding and KYC review, then integrate the gateway into your checkout. Gateways commonly support Visa, Mastercard and local payment methods, plus wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Approval and the commercial terms are set by the bank or provider — we’ll come back to that honestly below.

How Georgiafy helps

We work as your on-the-ground team, joining the company, banking, technical and compliance pieces into one coherent setup:

• Entity setup. We register the Georgian company that holds your merchant account — the legal home for your payments activity.
• Bank and acquirer introductions. We help you open a Georgian business bank account and connect you with banks and licensed providers that offer acquiring suited to your model.
• Gateway integration guidance. We help you choose a gateway and plan a clean integration into your website, app or platform, including the common card and wallet methods.
• Compliance documentation. For merchant onboarding, we help assemble the KYC, AML and corporate documents that reviewers expect to see.
• Tax-friendly structuring. Where relevant, we explain how IT company tax privileges may fit your business, and how a foreign founder can get approved for a Georgian bank account.

What to prepare

Merchant onboarding goes faster when these are ready:

• A registered company. Most acquirers contract with a legal entity. Have your Georgian company (or IE) set up, with clear ownership and a described line of business.
• A business bank account. Funds need somewhere to settle, so a Georgian business account is usually a prerequisite.
• KYC and source-of-funds documents. Identity papers for owners and directors, proof of address, and a credible explanation of your business activity and money flows.
• A working website or product. Acquirers usually want to see your storefront, your terms, refund and privacy policies, and the products or services being sold.

An honest note on approvals

We can prepare a strong, well-documented application and introduce you to the right institutions — but we cannot guarantee an outcome. A merchant account is approved at the discretion of the bank or payment provider, based on their own risk appetite and compliance review. Some business models (for example certain high-risk or unfamiliar activities) face more scrutiny or are declined, and rules can change. We’ll tell you candidly where your profile is likely to stand, and verify the current requirements with the National Bank of Georgia (nbg.gov.ge) and your chosen bank or provider before you commit.

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules and fees change — as of 2026, verify the current requirements with the National Bank of Georgia (nbg.gov.ge) and with your chosen bank or payment provider before acting. Approvals and commercial terms are set by those institutions and are not guaranteed.