# Merchant account

URL: /systems/finance/merchant-account · Id: `capability:merchant-account`

> Merchant account gives a Startup its own connected payments account at its first sale, so it sells and settles as seller of record.

Merchant account gives a [Startup](/business/nouns/startup) its own Stripe connected account at its first paid [Offer](/business/nouns/offer). The Startup sells as seller of record, and the platform verifies its owners and covers the account’s losses.

## Contract
| Clause | Terms |
| --- | --- |
| Starts | The first Offer with a [Price](/business/nouns/price) goes live through [`Offer.publish`](/business/nouns/offer/publish), or the first [Card](/business/nouns/card) is issued through [`Card.issue`](/business/nouns/card/issue). |
| Onboarding | The representative and owners complete Stripe’s onboarding, which [`Task.assign`](/business/nouns/task/assign) hands to them. Identity documents go to Stripe, never to the platform. |
| Seller of record | The [Company](/business/nouns/company) that holds the Startup, on every [Order](/business/nouns/order), receipt and statement descriptor. `Order.merchantOfRecord` names it. |
| Liability | The platform verifies the owners and covers any negative balance. [`Order.screen`](/business/nouns/order/screen) scores every charge before it runs. |
| Views | No Startup gets Stripe’s own dashboard. Balances, payouts, Cards and [Disputes](/business/nouns/dispute) are records, read through [`Transaction.list`](/business/nouns/transaction/list) and the founder’s app. |
| Fees | One platform fee per charge, withheld before money reaches the balance. It covers card processing and the platform’s share, and [`Order.pay`](/business/nouns/order/pay) posts the two as separate [Entries](/business/nouns/entry). |
| Requirements | Each new Stripe requirement becomes a [Task](/business/nouns/task) for the owner of record, due by Stripe’s deadline and linked to Stripe’s form. [`Task.assign`](/business/nouns/task/assign) escalates it a week before the deadline. |
| Lapse | When a deadline passes and Stripe disables charges, [`Order.pay`](/business/nouns/order/pay) refuses with `charges-disabled`. Paid Offers take [Waitlist](/business/nouns/waitlist) sign-ups until Stripe re-enables the account. |
| While held | Own. Each Startup gets its own connected account under the Studio-held entity. |
| Records | Charges, refunds, Disputes and payouts land on the Startup’s own books in the [Ledger](/systems/ledger) through [`Transaction.reconcile`](/business/nouns/transaction/reconcile). |

A self-serve founder’s existing Stripe account never becomes the Startup’s account. Its past charges import read-only, so history carries over without a second record.

## Verbs
| Verb | Object | Event |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Order.pay](/business/nouns/order/pay) | [Order](/business/nouns/order) | [`Order.paid`](/business/events/Order.paid) |
| [Task.assign](/business/nouns/task/assign) | [Task](/business/nouns/task) | [`Task.assigned`](/business/events/Task.assigned) |

## Interfaces
- [API](/code/api/reference)
- [SDK](/code/sdk/reference)
- [CLI](/code/cli/reference)
- [MCP](/code/mcp/reference)

## Example
A resume-review service publishes a $79 Offer. Its connected account opens with that Offer, and the first Order settles two days later. Three months on, Stripe asks for an owner’s address; the Task reaches the founder with Stripe’s form and closes the same day.