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Understanding Accounts and Organizations

You are assigned a
portfolio
 account when you sign up. All merchant accounts are subordinate to the portfolio account. A merchant account consists of a
merchant
 organization and its subordinate organizations, which always includes at least one
transacting
 organization. You can use
structural
 organizations to extend the hierarchy of merchant accounts.
  • The
    portfolio
     account is always the top node in the hierarchy.
  • A
    merchant
     organization represents a business entity. For example, a brand or company. There can only be one merchant in any branch of the hierarchy.
  • A
    transacting
     organization represents an entity that processes payment transactions. For example, a physical store or a payment form on a web page or app. No other organization can be directly subordinate to a transacting organization.
  • A
    structural
     organization represents a conceptual entity that enables you to build an expansive hierarchy between merchant and transacting nodes. For more information on using structural organizations to extend the hierarchy, see Extend the Hierarchy.
    The image below shows a simple merchant account. The merchant organization is directly beneath the portfolio organization, and contains one transacting organization.

    Figure:

    Simple Merchant Account