Merchant Account（商人账户 或商户商户）的定义

A merchant account is a type of bank account that allows businesses to accept payments by debit or credit cards. A merchant account is established under an agreement between an acceptor and a merchant acquiring bank for the settlement of credit card and/or debit card transactions. In some cases, a payment processor or independent sales organization is also a party to the merchant agreement. Whether a merchant enters into a merchant agreement directly with an acquiring bank, or through an aggregator such as PayPal, the agreement binds the merchant to obey the the Operating Regulations established by the card brands.

Merchant Account是一种可以直接接受信用卡和借记卡的公司银行账户。Merchant Account需在收单银行和承兑人就信用卡或贷记卡交易的结算达成一定的协议的情况下建立。有些时候，第三方收款机构，独立的销售组织也是此商户协议的一方。不管一个商户直接或间接（如通过Paypal或快钱）与收单银行签署这种协议，协议都要求商户遵守相应的卡组织的运营规章。

如何开Merchant Account

A) In order to obtain a merchant account in the US, you need a Social Security Number which is used to check
the credit history of the business owner in order to decide if they will trust the business.
Because foreign business owners do not have the Social Security Number, they are not normally able to get merchant service 
support.

B) Even if you are American and  have a positive credit rating the bank is required to visit the actual physical company office before 
they can approve merchant services for a new company.  Virtual offices are NOT accepted.

C) For a foreign business owner, the best solution is to open a US bank account and then work through a European Merchant 
service provider who is more flexible. CIL can help with this 对于一个国外商家(中国商家)来说，最好的方法就是开一个美国银行账户，并通过一个欧洲的商户服务供应商来申请。CIL提供从成立美国公司，美国税号，虚拟办公室，欧洲Merchant Account申请全套服务，而不需要客户提供社会安全号/Social Security Number/SSN，如果您对此服务感兴趣，请电邮：info@cil-online.com.

CIL Merchant Account 解决方案：

To open a merchant service account, the client must provide proof of:

a) US company registration documents PLUS Employer Identification Number (EIN)
b) US business bank account (we can help with this)
c) Description of the products and services that are being offered online.
d) Maintain at least one website that must be approved by the merchant service provider.

美国公司申请merchant account是需要很多条件的。
1. 如果您的Delaware公司不是由我司注册的可能需要转到我司名下（当然非美国公司包括离岸公司也是可以申请的）。

2. 您需要提供您的电子商务网站的网址和业务介绍，我需要给收单银行（或收单商户）进行评估（请注意，没有SSN，我们不能申请美国的merchant account）。

3. 您的网站的服务器必须满足PCI标准4级或4级以上(PCI Level 4)的认证标准才能申请到Merchant Account或使用Direct Link API。

4. 请描述您的购物车收款的过程，是否有哪个网站与您的收款方式类似，是否有预定服务。

5. 您是否有指定的收款网关。
鉴于问题的复杂性，请在您咨询前准备好以上问题，直接写电邮到info@cil-online.com，并注明您的姓名和电话，我们可能需要致电您进行讨论。