One of the common confusions that we get from clients is that they do not understand they are APPLYING for a merchant account. With the instant approval of services such as PayPal, Intuit, and Square, we can understand the origins of the confusion. So why are you APPLYING when you decide to open a full merchant account?
There are a couple of factors.
First, there are strict regulations that come from Visa and Mastercard when it comes to the business models and industries they take. Your business model and industry is something that underwriting will review before giving you the go-ahead.
Sometimes, businesses are terminated due to shady acts of business. In these instances, Visa/Mastercard/AMEX will put these businesses on a list to ensure they don’t get approved for future credit card processing capabilities. Again, this is something underwriting will want to review before approving your account.
So while it may shock you that you are actually applying for an account, know it’s for good reason. This should also help you understand why your provider needs certain documents to back up your business before the jury that is underwriting. At the end of the day, we want to know your business and ensure the success and relationship is long term.