A merchant account is a type of bank account that lets a business accept and hold card payments before the money settles to its regular bank account. Traditionally it is issued by an acquiring bank after underwriting and carries a merchant ID (MID). A modern alternative - a sub-merchant account under a payment facilitator (PayFac) - gives you the same ability to accept cards, but goes live in minutes instead of weeks.
When a customer pays by card, the money does not go straight to your bank. It flows through the card networks to an acquiring bank, lands in your merchant account (identified by a MID), and then settles to your ordinary business account on a payout schedule. Along the way the acquirer takes processing fees and holds the risk of chargebacks. The merchant account is the regulated container that makes accepting cards possible at all.
A traditional merchant account means underwriting queues, paperwork and days-to-weeks of setup before you can charge anyone. A PayFac compresses that to minutes: you become a sub-merchant under infrastructure that is already approved and regulated, so you can accept cards the same session while checks finish in the background. You still get your own account, your name on the statement, your customer - just without the wait.
For most builders and small businesses, no - a sub-merchant account is faster, cheaper to set up and just as real. You would only need a standalone merchant account at large volume with specific banking or pricing requirements. If your goal is simply to start taking payments in an app, a sub-merchant account gets you there today.
paas.build, powered by UniPaaS (an FCA-authorised payment institution, No. 929994), opens a real merchant (sub-merchant) account the same session via progressive KYB - no company required, 3.9% flat, you stay the merchant. Individuals go live instantly; companies get a short onboarding link. It is agent-native too, so an AI coding agent can create the account for you. Available in the UK, EU and US.
Yes, in some form. To accept cards the money has to land in a merchant account before it settles to your bank. You can get your own (a traditional account from an acquiring bank) or ride on a provider's account as a sub-merchant under a PayFac. The sub-merchant route is far faster: paas.build opens a real capped account the same session.
A traditional merchant account involves underwriting and can take days to weeks. A sub-merchant account under a payment facilitator like paas.build (on UniPaaS, an FCA-authorised PI) is live the same day via progressive KYB, with verification completing in the background.
A payment gateway authorises and encrypts a card transaction; a merchant account is where the funds are held before settling to your bank. You need both to get paid, and modern providers bundle them into one integration.
Yes. As an individual or sole trader you can go live on paas.build without registering a company - you stay the merchant, at 3.9% flat, live the same day, capped until full verification. Available in the UK, EU and US.