Merchant account
The account a licensed acquirer opens in a merchant’s name to receive card and wallet payments before settling them to the merchant’s bank. Whether a provider gives a merchant their own account or places them under a shared one is the difference between an acquirer and an aggregator, and it decides who controls the terms.
Why it matters to a merchant
Worth being clear about what a merchant actually has, because the answer differs by model: their own account, or a place inside somebody else's. It affects settlement, limits, reporting and what happens to the business if the arrangement above it changes — none of which appears on a rate card.
Read more: Getting a merchant account in Singapore: documents, timeline and what gets checked
Where this comes up
Pages on this site that deal with this in context:
- Getting a merchant account in Singapore: documents, timeline and what gets checked
- Acquirer, gateway, PSP: what the words actually mean
- Which payment methods should a Singapore merchant accept?
- How to accept WeChat Pay and Alipay in Singapore
- Alipay and Alipay+ in Singapore
- The best payment gateway in Singapore is the wrong question
Related terms
In this section: What it costs, and what gets measured