While often viewed as a compliance requirement, the onboarding decisions shape the entire structure a merchant builds.

The process of applying for a merchant account leads to the assignment of two core attributes from the acquirer: the MID (Merchant ID) and MCC (Merchant Category Code).

Onboarding isn’t just how you get a merchant account, it’s how your entire acquiring setup is defined. It’s not a single-step approval, but a layered, strategic process.