8. Card acquisition and two-step payments

CardAcquisition reads the card before committing to a payment — the two-step pattern. Use it when the card identity changes what happens next: loyalty recognition, card-type-dependent pricing, or checkout flows where the basket closes after the card is known.

Step 1 — acquire the card

POST /acquisition:

"CardAcquisitionRequest": {
  "SaleData": {"OperatorID": "Cashier_01", "SaleTransactionID": {"TransactionID": "9990", "TimeStamp": "2026-07-06T10:00:00.0+02:00"}},
  "CardAcquisitionTransaction": {"TotalAmount": "11.99", "PaymentType": "Normal", "CashBackFlag": "false"},
  "AmountsReq": {"Currency": "EUR", "RequestedAmount": "11.99"}
}

The cardholder presents their card; the response identifies it (masked PAN, brand, entry mode) without charging it.

Step 2 — complete with a payment

Send a standard payment whose PaymentData carries a CardAcquisitionReference — the SaleTransactionID (ID + timestamp) of the acquisition:

"PaymentRequest": {
  "PaymentData": {"CardAcquisitionReference": {"TimeStamp": "2026-07-06T10:00:00.0+02:00", "TransactionID": "9990"}},
  "PaymentTransaction": {"AmountsReq": {"Currency": "EUR", "RequestedAmount": "11.99"}},
  "SaleData": {"OperatorID": "Cashier_01", "SaleTransactionID": {"TimeStamp": "...", "TransactionID": "9991"}}
}

The amount may differ from step 1 — the reference links the card, not the price. The payment then completes without re-presenting the card.

Abandoning an acquisition

If the sale is cancelled between the two steps, release the acquisition with POST /acquisition/abort. Do not leave acquisitions dangling — an unreleased acquisition blocks the flow the cardholder experiences.

Standalone acquisition

CardAcquisition also runs standalone (card-only flows, identification without payment) — conditional on your use case, certified only when in scope. Donation amounts can ride on an acquisition through the same MarketpayPaymentExtensions.AdditionalAmount block as payments.

Related

  • Taking a payment — step 2 is a standard payment in every other respect.
  • Payment features — cashback flag and donation in the two-step flow.