title: Gibraltar — Scheme & Network Compliance | World Payments Monitor canonical: https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/gibraltar/w4/ publisher: Asymmetric Intelligence ### W4 Scheme & Network Compliance Probable confirmed 2026-06-20 Gibraltar PSPs/acquirers operate under the international four-party card-scheme rules (Visa/Mastercard), PCI DSS (PCI SSC), and — given Gibraltar's UK-aligned post-Brexit posture and SEPA reachability — interchange/scheme-fee economics broadly tracking the UK/EU model. Gibraltar has no domestic card scheme; compliance flows through scheme rulebooks and PCI DSS rather than a bespoke Gibraltar interchange regulation. Searched: GFSC card-scheme/interchange instruments — no Gibraltar-specific interchange cap instrument identified; scheme/PCI obligations apply via the international schemes. Standing sub-brief · written on or before 4 July 2026 159 words · last cycle 2026-06-23 #### Scheme & Network Compliance Card acquiring in Gibraltar runs on standard four-party scheme economics, with Visa and Mastercard interchange paid acquirer-to-issuer, PCI DSS compliance, and scheme-mandated technical standards. The compliance perimeter for both bank and non-bank acquirers flows through international scheme rulebooks and the PCI SSC rather than a bespoke domestic instrument. Critically, and on confirmed absent-field provenance, no Gibraltar-specific domestic interchange-cap instrument or domestic card scheme was identified — this was searched and found absent, not merely unsearched. Gibraltar acquirers and PSPs therefore inherit scheme-fee economics directly, and the absence of a domestic cap means there is no local interchange relief available. #### Outlook Scheme and network compliance is a stable module. Gibraltar firms will continue to track changes to the international Visa and Mastercard rulebooks and PCI DSS, since these — not any domestic instrument — govern card-acquiring obligations. No domestic interchange or scheme development is in prospect, and the module is carried as monitored rather than active. no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief ** Sources and findings (3)** 1. T1 ECB Occasional Paper No 131 (interchange) / industry (Stored, Justt) — Card acquiring in Gibraltar runs on standard four-party scheme economics: interchange is paid by the acquirer to the issuer per transaction, set by Visa/Mastercard, with acquirers passing scheme fees and interchange to merchants; PCI DSS compliance and scheme-mandated technical standards apply to acquirers/PSPs. 2. T3 Quadrapay (Gibraltar payment gateway) / UCSB PCI glossary — Gibraltar-based merchants/PSPs are served by acquirers requiring PCI DSS compliance and adherence to card-scheme rules; acquirers must be defined as such by a payment brand and are subject to payment-brand rules and merchant-compliance procedures. 3. T3 WorldFirst (SEPA countries list) — Gibraltar is a SEPA-reachable territory, so euro instant/credit-transfer scheme rails (SCT/SCT Inst) and the ISO 20022 message standard are accessible to Gibraltar-domiciled euro accounts.