Merchant Onboarding Checklist

This checklist ensures every new acquiring merchant is verified, risk-tiered and technically ready before the first live transaction is processed.

Merchant Services confirms the legal entity's registration, beneficial ownership and business address, and screens all listed principals against sanctions and adverse-media lists before proceeding.

A Merchant Category Code (MCC) is assigned based on the merchant's primary business activity. Merchants in higher-risk MCC bands (e.g. travel, digital goods, subscription services) are placed in an elevated risk tier requiring quarterly monitoring instead of the standard annual review.

The merchant must submit a completed Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) matching their integration type before go-live. Merchants that fail to submit a valid SAQ within 30 days of contract signing are suspended from onboarding until resolved.

Commercial terms, interchange pass-through and monthly minimums are confirmed in the signed merchant agreement before technical integration begins.

A test batch of authorization, capture, refund and void transactions is processed in the certification environment and reviewed by Merchant Services before the merchant is switched to production.