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Merchant Of Record: The Complete Guide

Selling across markets and borders is the ultimate goal for online merchants and requires careful consideration of your digital commerce approach. In order to scale, merchants need to carefully balance aspects of localization, brand consistency, sales tax compliance, fraud management, privacy compliance, technology stack, and more. Finding the right Merchant of Record provider can make the world of business ownership a little easier.

Intro

The digital payments market increases by around 12.01% every year and should exceed $10.5 trillion by 2025.
But this growth trend doesn't guarantee success for every online business.
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Intro Image

To be part of this bull run, you need to set up dynamic payment systems that target the global market, and that's what we'll cover here.

This guide will break down everything you need to set up your system with a Merchant of Record.

We'll cover:

  • What a Merchant of Record is;
  • How they work;
  • Their roles and obligations when processing online payment transactions;
  • The difference between a Merchant of Record, a Payment Service Provider, a revenue delivery platform, and a Seller of Record; and
  • The challenges of being your own MoR.
 

What Is a Merchant of Record?

What is Recurring Billing?

A Merchant of Record (MoR) is the legal entity authorized to sell to customers and process their credit and debit card transactions.

They are responsible for all liability associated with the payment transaction, ensuring payment card industry (PCI) compliance, checking fraud, and accepting refunds and chargebacks.

In simple terms, a Merchant of Record processes the actual payment for a product or service, and their name appears on the consumer's card statement.

Why is a Merchant of Record important?

If you sell online, you are global from day one. However, a series of barriers could prevent you from completing transactions.

Some of those roadblocks include:

Payment Methods Included
Currency
conversion
Security Features
Local
processing fees
Automatic Billing Features
Connecting to
merchant accounts
Integration Alternatives
Complying with
local regulations
Integration Alternatives
Payment and
data compliance
Cost Efficiency
Accessing the
acquiring bank
Cost Efficiency
Regulators'
fraud restrictions
To solve this, you can set up international offices and subsidiaries to process local transactions. But that can be a logistical and financial nightmare.
You can use a payment processor, but it may have several barriers like:
Higher processing fees
Lower conversion rates
Costly hidden charges

A Merchant of Record saves the day; they help you reach the global market without the logistical or financial burdens of international offices.

With an MoR, you can meet any specific country requirements, like:

  • Accruing duty and sales taxes
  • Local laws and regulations
  • Shipping and returns
  • Regulatory compliances
  • General data protection regulations
  • Payment preferences

How Does a Merchant of Record Work?

How to Accept Recurring Payments
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A Merchant of Record is like a reseller.

If you use an MoR, two transactions occur when a buyer checks out from your website:one between you and the MoR and the other between the MoR and the customer.

After the transaction, the MoR's name appears on the customer's credit card statement because they make the sale to the end customer. And your only customer is the Merchant of Record.

You can say the MoR makes the purchase and resells it to the customer.

The MoR will be responsible for the claims in case of disputes or required consents because the transaction record bears its name.

What's The Difference Between a Merchant of Record (MoR) and A Payment Service Provider (PSP)?

The difference between a payment-only solution and an MoR is that a payments-only solution processes only payments. In contrast, a Merchant of Record handles the entire order process, including taking on all related financial liability for the client.

In simple terms, PSPs help sellers accept payments but don't take on any other financial responsibility or assume any financial risk for merchants.

An MoR, on the other hand, handles everything from ordering, payment processing, reconciliations, refund requests, currency conversions, chargebacks, data privacy regulations, and tax compliance.

One of the main advantages of working with an MoR model versus a PSP model is that the former gives you access to local acquiring. Whereas a PSP will process all your customers' transactions through a global acquirer, an MoR can route local transactions to a processor in the country where the customer is based.

This has a significant positive impact on the authorization rates you're registering, meaning you'll have a higher rate of successful orders and payments out of all order attempts. In short, an MoR ensures you're collecting more of your due revenue, a real, tangible benefit for your company's profitability.

SOLUTION BRIEF
Want to learn more about what each model implies in terms of order and payment management, localization, compliance and more? Then make sure to get a free copy of this eBook!
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Reseller Model or Payment Service Provider?

What Is the Difference Between a Merchant of Record and
a Seller Of Record?

A Seller of Record is simply the legal entity referred to and identified as the seller of a product to the end consumer.

The Seller of Record usually assumes accounting for a transaction tax. You can outsource this responsibility or act as a Seller of Record. You give your Seller of Record the legal right to resell your goods to the final customer under their name if you outsource.

On the other hand, a Merchant of Record is held financially liable by the acquiring bank to process transactions.

The difference between the two is that while a Merchant of Record acts as a reseller, they don't necessarily take up the seller's identity. This means that customers may still visit your website to access the product and make purchases.

In contrast, a Seller of Record identifies as the original seller at the time of the transaction.

Who Needs a Merchant of Record and Why?

Advantages and Process of Selling Subscriptions

Without a Merchant of Record or international subsidiaries, you sign up for the tedious responsibility of assuming financial liability for clearing and processing all payments.

Unless you have a knack for managing tax calculations, negotiating credit card processing fees, or learning different national payment laws, you should use an MoR.

A Merchant of Record allows you to scale quickly in the global market. Here are the types of businesses an MoR can help:
Ways you can further refine your search
Software and Digital Products
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Software and Digital Products

You can benefit from an MoR if you sell digital items like downloadable software, games, eBooks, academic papers, and the like across a global market.

Acting as your own Merchant of Record isn't easy, from collecting and remitting taxes to complying with consumer protection regulations and everything in between. Even if you don't sell globally, offloading the "risk" to an MoR will save you from related financial liabilities.

SaaS
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SaaS

If you sell software as a service across the global market, you may need a Merchant of Record to process card payments.

Beyond a payment gateway, SaaS companies face three other major concerns regarding the processing and handling of payments. They include the ongoing concerns of managing:

  • Subscriptions
  • Taxes
  • Recurring billing

Managing this can be heavy work without an MoR. An MoR will collect payments, calculate, and remit your region-based taxes to the appropriate government.

eCommerce and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Businesses
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eCommerce and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Businesses

eCommerce payment handling, compliance, and taxes can be complicated without a global partner.

An MoR can be cheaper, safer, and more efficient than merchant accounts, local offices, and other infrastructures necessary for processing cross-regional payments.

WEBINAR
See how the Reseller Model can help you focus more on your customer and products instead of allocating resources to international regulation and compliance.
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WEBINAR

What Challenges Can You Face without an MoR?

What Challenges Can You Face without an MoR?

Payment system liabilities don't decrease as you grow;instead, they become more challenging and expensive.

Unless you have the time and the resources to handle being your own MoR, combining your core business responsibilities with preliminary activities could turn out to do more harm than good.

Here are some challenges you could be facing when not leveraging an MoR
Here are some challenges you could be facing when not leveraging an MoR
Merchant Accounts
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01. Merchant Accounts

If you're not global, it's relatively easy to open and set up a merchant account. You only need to get in touch with an acquiring bank and connect a payment gateway.

If global, you'll need to create and maintain a merchant account to process local currencies in each country. Not everyone qualifies as several factors like business history and credit score come into play when assessing suitability.

A simple credit transaction in your local currency could take days or weeks.

Local Entity Creation
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02. Local Entity Creation

Aside from a merchant account, you also need to manage all tax registration, calculation, collection, and remittances.

Simply put, you need a full-fledged "Local Entity, " which can cost up to $2M per market and take over two years to set up.

You can quickly fix these with an MoR.

Payment and Data Compliance
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03. Payment and Data Compliance

Payment and Data Compliance regulations are complex.

Without an MoR, you're responsible for ensuring compliance with payment card security (PCI-DSS) standards and other necessary payment laws.

Also, you must ensure that all relevant data requirements are appropriately managed. Without an MoR, you run the risk of breaching payment and data compliance laws.

Tax Calculation and Remittances
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04. Tax Calculation and Remittances

Local taxing is already challenging, especially when each state has different tax laws.

Without an MoR, you'll deal with this on an international scale. It can be demanding because sales tax laws are constantly changing.

And that's just for collection alone. After calculating and collecting the taxes, you'll also have to remit them appropriately. You'll need to file taxes for each region, and there are a million-and-one opportunities to make mistakes.

Now multiply that for the different states where you have a sales tax nexus.

Have you also considered that you may be selling to Japanese and German customers? Or Brexit? And what about the Aussies?

WEBINAR
Want to better understand the obligations and opportunities that come when operating within today's dynamic tax landscape? Make sure to watch this webinar to find out how an MoR can outsource the complexity of taxation and help you scale quicker.
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WEBINAR

How To Choose a Merchant of Record

How To Choose a Merchant of Record

Being your own Merchant of Record can reduce costs by eliminating the fees of Merchant of Record providers. And this is a good option if it's more economical for your business.

Partnering with a Merchant or Record provider is an excellent option if you don't want to deal with the hassle of handling payments yourself.

Here are some questions to ask before choosing a Merchant of Record :
Here are some questions to ask before choosing a Merchant of Record:
Is it Secure?
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01. Is it Secure?

You want to ensure that beyond swiftly processing payments, your MoR can also guarantee that your customer's confidential details are safe.

An unsafe MoR can leak your customer's personal information, leading to a severe data and privacy breach and loss of goodwill on your end. Fraud committed by your MoR puts your business' reputation at stake.

Is it PCI Compliant?
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02. Is it PCI Compliant?

You only want to do business with MoR's that can provide proof of being PCI compliant.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a system of standards and guidelines that ensures maximum security provisions for participants in the electronic world. It aims to enhance security for consumers through strict guidelines for accepting, processing, storing, or transmitting payment card information.

Before you settle on any payment gateway, confirm that they are fully compliant.

PCI non-compliance can result in severe consequences such as monthly penalties ranging from $5, 000 up to the sum of $100, 000, data breaches, and in some cases, legal action.

You can avoid this by staying off sketchy payment gateways.

Instead, focus on established and more recognized payment providers.

Is it Reliable?
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03. Is it Reliable?

Look for an MoR that is available 24/7 with backup systems.

Most payment gateway services restrict their support to just emails and tickets. Some expect users to reference the manual instructions to troubleshoot and fix a problem.

You might also want to confirm if the provider offers live support. This may not seem like such a massive perk until there's a need to hop on a call and quickly resolve a technical difficulty.

Is it Easy To Use?
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04. Is it Easy To Use?

Ease and flexibility cannot be overemphasized here. You want to ensure that your MoR is easy to integrate.

It should also be user-friendly, provide multiple integration options, and be easy to implement for your website;otherwise, you'll lose customers.

VIDEO
Check out these five essential features you should consider when choosing an online payment provider for your business.
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VIDEO

Conclusion

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Digital payments are experiencing dramatic growth in several regions, with more brands striving to sell globally.

If you want to rank among the unicorns, you need to set up a sophisticated yet seamless payment system.

You can partner with a Merchant of Record to cut global expansion costs and avoid financial risks while maintaining your store's security at maximum standards.

Is 2Checkout (now Verifone) a Merchant of Record?

2Checkout is an all-in-one monetization platform.

We offer two flexible models:a Payment Service Provider and a Merchant of Record model.

What does this mean for you?

With the Merchant of Record model, 2Checkout assumes the financial liability of your business. We will process your global and local card and APM payments and manage sales tax, local entities, invoicing, compliance, and more.

Our flexible modular platform gives you access to a full suite of tools, from which you can use just those which address current business needs.

Want to learn more? Sign up for a free account today and let's discover how our MoR services can best serve your business.

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