Merchant Account

A merchant account is a specialist bank account that lets your business accept card payments and receive the funds.

It sits between the card networks and your normal business bank account, holding card takings until they're paid out to you.

When a customer pays, the money is processed by the acquiring bank and settled into your merchant account, then paid out to your business bank account.

The acquiring bank takes on the processing relationship with Visa and Mastercard on your behalf, so you don't deal with the card schemes directly.

Required for any business taking card payments, whether in person, over the phone or online.

Whether you use a terminal, an online checkout or pay-by-link, there's a merchant account behind it.

The terms of your merchant account — rates, settlement times and fees — directly affect both your costs and your cash flow.

Getting these terms reviewed regularly is one of the simplest ways to cut your cost of taking payments.