Merchant Stronghold loves Start Ups and Helps educate them on how to successfully open a merchant account and setting up a payment gateway. Like any Start Up, The business should have the following:
● Valid State ID or Driving License or Passport
● Articles of Incorporation of the Business, Any DBA or Fictitious Name Filing, should be assigned an Employers’ Identification Number (EIN) Issued by the IRS.
● Bank Letter or Void Check for the Business (should clearly state the business name, account # , ABA (routing) # and/or business address)
● SSN (US Citizens) or ITIN (US and Non US Citizens)
● Latest 3 months Utility Bills (Gas or electricity bill ,Telephone bill, Water bill)
● Appropriate Business Plans, Vendor – Re Seller – Fulfillment Agreement , if Any
● 4 Months Personal Bank Statements , Appropriate Financials , Strong Profile
The Start Up business also needs to choose between their marketing strategies and plan out should they need a Retail POS or eCommerce Virtual Terminal. High Risk business may have a six monthly 10% rolling reserve.
Website Compliance
An eCommerce US Start Up needs to have a website should they plan to accept payments online, via phone or by mail. The website should display necessary information about the product and/or services advertised. Terms and Conditions, Return-Refund Policies, Proper Contact Details, Privacy Policy and SSL Cert are some of the few mandates. Read more about Website Compliance in Stronghold’s Blog.
Merchant Account
Once the business has all the basic documents and ready to apply for a Merchant Account, the Start Up business can just click Merchant Stronghold and start an application. It takes about 3 to 5 Business days for the Application to go through the Under Writing and Submitted to the Bank for a Payment Gateway Deployment.