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Getting the account structure and names right is the single biggest factor in whether a merchant application clears KYC on the first attempt. This article covers the two-level account structure, which name belongs in which field, and the naming decisions that cannot be reversed later.

For how Account Holders and Stores sit beneath your Partner and Brand levels, see Understanding the ValPay Account Hierarchy: From Partner to Store.

Every merchant on the ValPay platform has two levels of account structure.

The Account Holder receives the overall settlement. Each Store reports its own transaction data in the portal.

These are two different fields and both must be correct. Submitting the trading name in the legal name field is the single most common cause of KYC rejection.

The merchant's official name as registered with the government. It must match their registration documents exactly. It is the name that appears on:

Do not shorten, abbreviate, or otherwise modify this name unless the abbreviation is part of the registered name itself.

The name the merchant operates under publicly — what their customers recognise. This may be storefront signage, a branded trade name, or a shortened form of the legal name.

Merchants often hold several slightly different versions of their own name — one on tax documents, a shortened form on the bank account, and a branded version in marketing. This is normal and does not require correcting anything on the merchant's side.

For example, a merchant registered as International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 123 may hold a bank account showing IUEC Local 123. In that case:

If the merchant's legal name and operating name are genuinely identical, the same name can be entered in both fields.

Where you are unsure which version is authoritative, ask the merchant for their incorporation documents or their EIN / IRS / CRA confirmation letter rather than working from their invoices or website.

There is no rename function and no override at any level. Once a Store is created with a given name, that name is permanent.

Before creating a Store, confirm the exact name with your merchant — spelling, capitalisation, and whether it should be the legal or trading name. This matters especially because Store names appear on customer receipts and card statement descriptors.

Once KYC is approved and a Store becomes active, a Store ID is generated automatically as a unique identifier for that location or sales channel. It:

If a merchant has an unusual corporate structure that does not fit the standard patterns, contact us before submitting rather than guessing.