So chances are if you’re reading this, you have an interest in making a change to accept more than just checks or cash for your merchandise or services. You may be looking for a payments processor to partner with for the very first time or maybe you are already using a merchant processing service that uses a flat fee and you are looking to take advantage of a more favorable pricing system like Interchange Plus. In either case, chances are you have everything you need already, but to hasten the process, here is a handy check list of what you would need to submit with your application in order to speed up the application time and spend less time in the Underwriting waiting room.

Ownership Type

Underwriters will need to know if business is a LLC, Corporation, S-Corp, Non-Profit, Sole Proprietorship or any other type of corporation.

Note: Non-profits will need to provide the 501(c)(3) letter from IRS to prove non-profit status.

Voided Check

This is used for the Merchant Processor to properly fund your business banking account. Most merchants, like Pineapple Payments, support the ability to designate deposit only and withdrawal only accounts.

Note: Voided checks MUST have Legal Name of Business or DBA in upper LH corner of the check.

Statements

There are 3 type(s) of statements you may be asked for at some point in the process to complete your application

3 Months Processing Statement(s)

Underwriters use this information to form a basis on what your average sale per transactions looks like and to see if there are any potential processing risks such as Chargebacks or excessive refunds. The statements also help form a basis of what the Underwriters expect you to process each month. In lieu of Processing Statements, the Underwriters may opt for your 3 months of Business Banking Statements.

Business Banking Statement(s)

In the event merchant processing statements are not available, the underwriting team will opt for Business Banking Statements. The bank statements will show the cash flow of the business and to make sure that the company is in good financial health before creating a merchant account for an organization. If your business is relatively brand new with no established funds, you may be asked for your Personal Banking Statement(s).

Personal Banking Statement(s)

This is used by underwriting to ensure the you and/or the signer are in a financial position to create a merchant processing account.

Note: This is very uncommon, and only needed if the prior 2 Statement(s) we covered are unavailable due to new nature of your business.

Home Address and Driver’s License #

This information is sometimes used to credit purposes & to verify the identity of you and/or the signer – in rare events sometimes the photo-copied version of the license would be required.

Website, Utility Bill, Business License and/or Business Phone #

This information is sometimes used to verify the identity of the business, also to see what kind of product(s) and/or service(s) are being sold to make sure they are in accordance with the risk guidelines of the processor.

Note: Not all of the information above would be required, but potentially a combination of the above items are normally required for Underwriting.

These are the general types of information that our Underwriters require that typically hold up the sign-up process and there are unique circumstances that may require information outside of these documents. But if you have these documents handy when you sign up for a merchant account, chances are you’ll be processing fresh in no time at all.