As a merchant, it helps to understand the nature of the accounts you are dealing with. Merchant accounts are primarily meant to hold the retailer’s money while it awaits transfer to an actual business bank account. Again, merchant accounts are divided into two categories: dedicated & aggregate merchant accounts.

Dedicated Merchant Account – This is an account that the account provider has exclusively established for the merchant. A “Dedicated” merchant account is more or less like your own internet-based bank account set up purposely for your online business. In case you wish to create an account with a payment gateway then you are eligible for a merchant account.

Aggregate Merchant Account – An aggregate merchant account is one that combines several companies. For this account, every retailer will still need to offer some info about your company but being part of an aggregate merchant account is much less complicated. PayPal & Stripe are examples of gateways that provide aggregate merchant accounts to their retailers. The disadvantage with aggregate merchant accounts is that they have less control over the period the money takes to complete the transaction process.