A merchant account, often called a MID, is what lets you accept card payments. Many merchants use more than one, for example a separate account for each product line, or a second account to share volume. PayLoop lets you connect several gateways and decide which payments go where.
Why merchants use more than one
- Different products are approved on different merchant accounts.
- Merchant accounts often have monthly or daily processing limits.
- Having a second account means you can keep selling if one is paused for any reason.
How it works
By product
You can assign each product to a specific gateway. Every order for that product is processed through that account. This is the simplest setup and the one most merchants start with.
Sharing volume
You can also group several gateways together and spread orders between them. You can set a daily limit for each one, and orders move to the others once a limit is reached.
Pausing a gateway
If you pause a gateway that shares volume with others, new orders go to the remaining accounts in that group and the checkout keeps working as normal.
A few good habits
- Use a clear billing descriptor on each account so customers recognise the charge on their statement.
- Keep an eye on approvals, refunds and disputes for each account, not only the total.
- Only use gateways that are approved for the products you sell through them.