How the card schemes define a merchant
The Visa Core Rules of 18 April 2026 define a merchant as an entity that accepts a card for the sale of goods or services. A merchant either has a merchant agreement with an acquirer directly or, if its contract is with a payment facilitator, is classified as a sponsored merchant.
The Mastercard Rules of 2 June 2026 define a merchant as a retailer, or any other person, firm or corporation, that agrees to accept cards under a merchant agreement. In card messages the merchant appears as the acceptor, or card acceptor.
What a merchant takes on
- A contract: the merchant agreement, with the scheme rules passed down through it
- Onboarding: checks on the business and its owners before the first payment
- Identification: a merchant ID, a category code and a name on cardholders' statements
- Liability: refunds, chargebacks and the fees that go with them
- Security: PCI DSS for whatever card data the merchant's systems touch
Why the definition matters
Who counts as the merchant decides whose name the cardholder sees, who answers a dispute and who is checked at onboarding. Platforms and marketplaces sit on that line: each seller may be the merchant, or the platform may be, as a merchant of record or as a marketplace under the schemes' own definitions.
Where a merchant shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Merchant onboardingBusiness sign-up, verification and underwriting, from application to first payment.
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
- CheckoutA hosted checkout for cards, wallets, bank payments and crypto, routed to the best provider.
- PayoutsMoney out to bank accounts, cards and wallets, on the rail that fits each payment.
Platforms that need it
Guides that go deeper
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, 18 April 2026: glossary, Merchant (Visa)
- Mastercard Rules, 2 June 2026: definitions, Merchant and Merchant Agreement (Mastercard)
- Regulation (EU) 2015/751, the Interchange Fee Regulation, Article 2(13): the payee (EUR-Lex)
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.