You do not need a registered company to start accepting card payments. As an individual (sole trader), you can go live the same day with a real, capped merchant account — verification completes in the background. Here's how, and the trade-offs versus forming a company first.
You can accept payments as an individual — no Ltd, LLC or incorporation required to start. On paas.build, you provide basic personal and business details and go live with a real merchant account the same day, capped (around £1,500) until progressive KYB verification completes. No company number is required at signup.
The classic route — form a US company via Stripe Atlas ($500) and wait for an IRS EIN (weeks for non-US founders), or incorporate locally before you can even apply to a PSP — was designed when shipping software took months. If you built your app in an evening, spending weeks on incorporation just to test whether anyone will pay is backwards. Start as an individual, incorporate later if and when the revenue justifies it.
Incorporation genuinely helps once you have meaningful revenue: limited liability, cleaner tax treatment, easier to raise money, and a more professional footing with larger customers. The point is sequence — validate demand and take real payments first, then incorporate deliberately rather than as a blocker on day one.
Tell your AI agent "add payments," or open the go-live prompt on the homepage. Enter your app or business name; we resolve the details and create a real account (sandbox + production). You get scoped keys by email and can take a live £1 payment in minutes. One flat rate: 3.9%. Available to builders based in the UK, EU and US.
Yes. A payment facilitator can onboard you as a sub-merchant without an incorporated company. On paas.build you go live the same day with a capped account while verification completes; no company number is required at signup.
Yes — operating as a sole trader/individual is a recognised way to do business in the UK, EU and US. You remain responsible for declaring income and meeting local tax rules. The payment service itself runs on UniPaaS, an FCA-authorised payment institution.
New individual accounts on paas.build can take payments immediately up to a cap (about £1,500) until background verification (progressive KYB) completes and the cap lifts.
You need somewhere to receive payouts. Many individuals start with a personal or sole-trader account and add a business account later when they incorporate.