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Managing multiple merchant accounts can be challenging, especially when it comes to payment processing. Using different payment gateways for each account can quickly become a headache, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs. But what if you could streamline everything with just one solution and use a single payment gateway with multiple merchant accounts?

In this article, we’re going to explore how and why businesses use a single payment gateway for multiple merchant accounts. Whether you’re expanding globally, diversifying your revenue streams, or just looking to simplify your operations, let’s see if this is the right approach for your business. 

What is a payment gateway for multiple merchant accounts?

Using one payment gateway for multiple merchant accounts allows businesses to manage all of their payment processing through a single platform, even if they have several merchant accounts. 

Why is this approach preferred? Imagine having to track payments, fees, and potential issues across multiple gateways. It’s time-consuming and increases the risk of errors. With a single payment gateway, all transactions — whether from different business units, regions, or product lines — are processed through the same interface. This makes monitoring, reconciling, and securing payments much more efficient.

Additionally, a single gateway can offer intelligent transaction routing, which automatically directs transactions to the most appropriate merchant account based on predefined criteria, such as transaction type, location, or currency. This level of automation and control is difficult to achieve when using multiple gateways.

In short, using one payment gateway for multiple merchant accounts streamlines your payment processes. It reduces administrative burdens and provides a more cohesive approach to managing your business’s financial operations.

Why do businesses set up multiple merchant accounts?

Businesses choose to set up multiple merchant accounts for a variety of strategic reasons. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common ones:

• Diversification of revenue streams: By spreading payment processing across different accounts, you can reduce the risk of disruptions. If one account faces issues, such as temporary suspension or technical difficulties, the other accounts can continue processing payments.
• Business expansion: As companies grow and enter international markets, they may need to set up separate merchant accounts to handle additional volume requirements and transactions in different currencies and regions.
• Segmentation of business units: For companies that operate multiple product lines or services (or run multiple websites with different accounts), having distinct merchant accounts for each segment allows for better revenue tracking and management.
• Risk management for high-risk industries: Businesses in high-risk sectors, such as travel, gaming, or subscription services, often use separate merchant accounts to isolate chargeback and fraud risks. 
• Promotional or seasonal sales strategies: Some businesses experience significant fluctuations in sales volume due to promotions or seasonal factors. Having separate merchant accounts can help manage these peaks and valleys without putting unnecessary strain on their primary accounts.
• More processing options: Some banks have restrictions on processing credit card payments involving certain types of currency. For example, your bank may support Visa transactions in rupees. But you wish to process Australian dollars through MasterCard. Having multiple accounts enables more payment processing options.
• Testing new markets: When companies want to test new products or enter emerging markets, they may set up dedicated merchant accounts (i.e. an offshore merchant account). This allows them to track the performance and customer preferences of the new ventures without mixing them with their core business operations.
• Backup options for payment processing: By maintaining multiple merchant accounts, businesses have a contingency plan in place. If one account goes down, they can quickly switch to another, ensuring uninterrupted service.
• Different payment models: Companies that operate under various payment models, such as subscriptions, one-time purchases, or pay-as-you-go services, benefit from separate merchant accounts. This approach allows for tailored handling of transactions, ensuring that each payment model is processed efficiently and effectively.

Having multiple merchant accounts can offer flexibility, security, and the ability to fine-tune your payment processing strategy based on your business needs.

How does multi-merchant payment processing work?

A key aspect of multi-merchant payment processing is the use of multiple merchant IDs (MIDs). Each merchant account is associated with its MID, which helps keep transactions separate and organized. 

In the past, the ratio of merchant IDs to gateway accounts was 1:1. For each new MID, merchants had to open a new gateway account. That simply wasn’t sustainable.

These days, modern payment gateways can handle multiple MIDs simultaneously. Businesses can still track and manage each account independently — even though they’re all processed through the same gateway.

The key features of multi-merchant payment processing that make all of this possible are intelligent transaction routing and load balancing. This technology automatically directs each transaction to the appropriate merchant account based on predefined rules, such as the transaction type, the transaction size, the customer’s location, the currency being used, or another pre-defined variable. 

If you want to see how this works in practice, here are a couple of tutorial videos we have for the users of SecureGlobalPay’s payment gateway:

The benefits of using a single payment gateway for multiple merchant accounts

If you’re still not convinced, here are some additional benefits of using this approach:

• Centralized management: Instead of juggling different platforms, you can monitor, track, report, analyze, and reconcile transactions from all accounts in one place.
• Cost efficiency: By negotiating fees and processing rates for all your accounts under one gateway, you may be able to secure better terms. Additionally, reducing the complexity of your payment infrastructure can lower administrative costs, such as maintenance, support, and integration expenses.
• Enhanced security: A single payment gateway allows you to implement consistent security protocols across all your merchant accounts. This uniformity helps protect your business from fraud and ensures compliance with industry standards, such as PCI DSS. It takes less effort to monitor potential threats, apply necessary updates, and maintain high levels of protection.
• Technical integration: Most gateways provide a unified API that allows for easy integration with your existing systems, reducing the complexity of maintaining different connections for each merchant account. This means fewer headaches when it comes to updates or troubleshooting. Plus, it can accelerate the onboarding process for new merchant accounts as your technical team won’t need to start from scratch each time.

This is a scalable solution that can evolve alongside your business. It is a smart choice for companies looking to stay agile and competitive in fast-changing markets.

How SecureGlobalPay can help

SecureGlobalPay offers a powerful and secure payment gateway that can handle multiple merchant accounts with ease. Whether you’re a small business looking to expand or an enterprise managing diverse revenue streams, we provide the tools you need to streamline your payment processing.

With SecureGlobalPay, you can set up and manage multiple merchant accounts through a single, intuitive interface. The gateway’s intelligent transaction routing system ensures that each payment is processed through the right merchant account.

Security is our top priority. The gateway offers robust security protocols, including advanced fraud detection and PCI DSS compliance, to protect your transactions and sensitive data. Additionally, our flexible API makes it easy to connect all your merchant accounts to the gateway. We have dedicated integrations for Shopify, WooComerce, BigCommerce, and dozens of other shopping carts. 

Want to learn more? Send a question to partners@secureglobalpay.net or go straight to our merchant application form: