What Is a Merchant ID Number and How to Get One?

What Is a Merchant ID Number?

When you start accepting card payments, you’ll quickly encounter a credit card processing essential: the merchant ID number. This unique 15-digit alphanumeric code comes from your acquirer or payment processor when you set up a merchant account.

MIDs serve several functions in the payment ecosystem. They provide unique identification, allowing the payment system to recognise your business during transactions and route payments correctly. MIDs also improve operational efficiency by providing detailed reporting and analytics.

Keep in mind that a MID differs from your merchant account number. They’re related, but your merchant account number refers to the broader financial account holding your funds, while the MID specifically identifies transactions within the payment network.

Complex businesses often have multiple MIDs to track different revenue streams or locations separately. This allows more specific reporting and improved accounting across various parts of your operation.

How Do You Get a Merchant ID Number?

Here’s how to get your MID and set up your online payment processing system.

Select a Merchant Services Provider

First, choose the right merchant services provider.

Traditional acquiring banks offer merchant services directly, which also involves the card acquiring process. They provide good support but often have strict approval requirements. Payment service providers like Rapyd, that are also direct acquirers, specialise in making onboarding fast and easy and can issue MIDs directly across a wide range of industries, including digital goods, marketplaces, iGaming, online gaming, travel, financial services and more.

When choosing a Payment service provider (PSP), there are many things to consider beyond processing fees such as payment method support, currencies, geographic coverage, industry specialisation and ease of integration with your existing systems.

Prepare Documentation

Before you apply, you’ll need to pull together a few key documents. These typically include your articles of incorporation, business licence, partnership agreement or anything else that proves your business is registered. You’ll also need your tax details and the bank account information for the business account where funds will be sent.

Each principal owner (usually anyone with 25% or more ownership) will need to provide a government-issued ID. If your business is already trading, it helps to include recent processing statements showing transaction volumes and chargeback rates.

Depending on your industry, you might be asked for extra paperwork in order to meet additional risk checks and requirements.

Application and Underwriting Process

After selecting a provider and preparing documents, you’ll submit an application.

The provider will then conduct KYC (Know Your Customer) verification to confirm your business identity through your documentation. They’ll perform a risk assessment, evaluating your business model, industry and creditworthiness.

Businesses in industries with higher chargeback rates undergo extra scrutiny through industry-specific evaluation. Be ready to answer questions about your business model, expected transaction volume and average transaction size.

Approval timelines typically vary, from 1-2 business days to a couple of weeks, depending on industry, region and other factors.

Setup and Integration

After approval, a MID, or multiple MIDs – depending on the setup – will be assigned to your new merchant account.

Depending on your business, your payment provider will link terminal IDs (TIDs) and configure your point-of-sale systems for in-store payment acceptance. Or for online payments, you will integrate using a payment API, hosted checkout, toolkit or simply use a plugin, if you are using a popular eCommerce hosting platform such as Shopify, Woocommerce, Wix or others.

Can You Have More Than One Merchant ID Number?

Yes, businesses can have multiple MIDs.

With Rapyd’s powerful Digital Wallet, businesses can also set up a single account and create sub-accounts and virtual accounts to simplify bookkeeping, funds transfers and disbursements.

Business Segmentation Benefits

Multiple MIDs provide excellent tracking and analysis for complex businesses. For operations with multiple locations or franchises, each location can have numerous n MIDs,to helpmonitor individual terminal, kiosk and store performance and compare metrics across locations.

When separating online versus in-store operations, MIDs can help track ecommerce and physical stores. This gives clearer visibility into channel performance and helps with inventory management.

Businesses with different product lines or divisions running distinct business units under one company can use separate MIDs to track revenue patterns for each division independently.

Operational Benefits

Multiple MIDs can make your operations run more smoothly. If you’re handling large volumes of transactions, spreading them across different MIDs helps you avoid processing limits. It also makes tracking and reconciliation easier, especially if you’ve got different products, business units or settlement timelines.

With transaction data separated by MID, your accounting team can more easily match revenue to the right part of the business.

International Expansion Benefits

If you’re selling across borders, multiple MIDs can make it easier to manage payments in different regions. You can set up region-specific MIDs with multi-currency accounts to accept local currencies, cutting down on conversion fees. They also help you stay compliant with local regulations, which can vary from one market to another.

Plus, you can offer multiple payment methods that are tailored for each region. Since customer preferences differ from place to place, having local MIDs lets you support the options your buyers are most likely to use.

Merchant ID Number vs. Payment Processor vs. Payment Gateway

Setting up your payment system means understanding three key components that work together but serve different purposes: MIDs, payment processors and payment gateways. Getting clear on these three elements helps you properly configure your payment ecosystem.

| | What It Does | Why It Matters |
| —– | —– | —– |
| Merchant ID Number (MID) | Identifies your business’s merchant account. Links payments to your account so funds go to the right place. Issued by your payment processor through your acquiring bank. | Acts as the identifier for your funds. Multiple MIDs can help separate sales channels or regions. |
| Payment Processor ID | Identifies the company that moves money between the customer’s bank and your bank for transaction settlement. | The processor is responsible for transferring funds securely and reliably to your merchant account. |
| Payment Gateway ID (GID) | Identifies the technology that sends payment data to the processor. | A payment gateway connects your checkout to the processor. Ensures sensitive data is transmitted safely and efficiently. |

How Rapyd Simplifies Merchant Identification and Onboarding

If you’re setting up your business to accept card payments, Rapyd makes that process faster and easier by handling everything in one place, from identity checks to approvals.

You don’t need to go through a separate acquiring bank or combine multiple providers. Rapyd provides licensed card acquiring, payment processing, and a payment gateway, which means you can get everything you need through one platform.

Once you’re approved, you’ll get your MID, or multiple MIDs, and can start accepting payments through Rapyd’s acquiring network, with support for cards and local payment methods.