No entity required

Accept payments without an LLC or limited company

You've been told you need to incorporate before you can take a card. You don't. Sole traders and individuals in the UK, EU and US can get a real merchant account the same day - no LLC, no limited company - and stay the merchant of their own sales. The mechanism that makes it possible is progressive KYB with a live cap, and there's one honest boundary you should know up front: your tax stays yours. Here's exactly how it works.

🏛️ FCA-authorised · FRN 929994 ↗ 🎬 Watch an agent open a real account - full log 🏦 By UniPaaS - J.P. Morgan rails since 2020

Why "you need an LLC" is a half-truth

The advice to incorporate first exists because most payment onboarding was built around companies - a registered entity is the cleanest thing to underwrite. But a company is not a legal requirement to accept payments. A payment facilitator can onboard you as a sole trader or individual, because it manages risk with limits and monitoring rather than by demanding an entity and a track record upfront. So the honest version is: you don't need an LLC to take money - you may want one later for liability or tax reasons, but that's a separate decision you can make on your own timeline. See also accepting payments without a company.

How same-day works: the £1,500 cap is the enabling mechanism

Progressive KYB is what lets you go live today instead of waiting on a review. Here's the mechanism, plainly: the reason a processor normally makes you wait is that it hasn't finished verifying you, and unbounded exposure to an unverified merchant is a risk. So paas.build bounds it. You get a live production account immediately, capped at roughly £1,500 of processing while your verification runs in the background; as it completes, the cap lifts. The cap isn't a limitation bolted on - it is the thing that makes same-day, no-company onboarding safe enough to offer. Think of it as "start small, we verify as you grow" instead of "prove everything, then start."

Every other route asks for the entity and the history first. The cap flips that: a real, live account in the same session, with the risk bounded until you're fully verified. That's why an individual can be charging customers today.

The honest boundary: your tax stays yours

This is the part we won't fudge. paas.build is a PayFac, not a Merchant of Record. That means you remain the seller - your name, your customer, your money - and therefore your taxes are yours to handle: income tax on what you earn, and any VAT or sales tax that applies to your sales. We move the money and keep you the merchant; we do not file tax for you. If handing off worldwide VAT/GST is your single most important need, a Merchant of Record is the honest recommendation there and we'll say so. But if you want to be live as yourself today and keep your customer relationship, staying the merchant is the point - and the tax is the fair trade.

Small-ticket math: a $9 sale costs 35 cents

Individuals and indie builders usually sell small - a $9 unlock, a $5 credit pack - and small tickets are exactly where fixed per-transaction fees hurt. paas.build is 3.9% flat, no fixed fee:

On a $9 sale	Fee taken	You keep
paas.build (3.9% flat)	$0.35	$8.65
Card processor (2.9% + $0.30)	$0.56	$8.44
Merchant of Record (5% + $0.50)	$0.95	$8.05

A 30-50 cent fixed fee is a rounding error on a $500 invoice and a tax on a $9 one. Full pricing.

Who this is for

A sole trader in the UK, an individual in the EU, or a US builder who hasn't formed an LLC yet - and wants to be selling this week, as themselves, owning their customers. One call: your agent runs go_live or you use the console on the homepage, keys arrive by email, checkout drops in. If instead you specifically need a formed entity and worldwide tax filed for you, form the LLC and pair it with a Merchant of Record - that's the right tool for that job.

FAQ

Can I accept payments without an LLC or limited company?

Yes. In the UK, EU and US, sole traders and individuals can accept card and bank payments through a payment facilitator. On paas.build you get a real merchant account the same day via progressive KYB - no LLC or limited company needed - live immediately with a cap (~£1,500) while verification completes, and you stay the merchant. 3.9% flat.

What is the £1,500 cap and why does it exist?

The cap is the enabling mechanism, not a limitation. It lets us give you a live production account the same day before full verification finishes, because the exposure is bounded. You process up to roughly £1,500 immediately; as verification completes in the background the cap lifts. It is what makes same-day, no-company onboarding possible instead of a days-long review.

Who handles my taxes if I accept payments as an individual?

You do. paas.build is a payment facilitator, not a Merchant of Record - we move the money and you remain the seller, so income tax and any VAT/sales tax on your sales stay your responsibility. That is the honest trade for staying the merchant and owning your customers. If you want tax filed for you, that is a Merchant of Record's job.

How much does it cost to take a $9 payment as an individual?

On paas.build a $9 sale costs about 35 cents - 3.9% flat with no fixed per-transaction fee. A processor charging 2.9% + $0.30 would take $0.56 on the same $9, and a Merchant of Record at 5% + $0.50 would take $0.95. The fixed fee is what hurts small tickets.

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