Merchant ID and why is it needed

The payment processing system is complex. The amount of engineering ingenuity behind seemingly instantaneous transactions is based on an impressive number of mechanisms that drive them. These mechanisms should not only be effective and efficient, but also secure and confidential. Part of this ingenuity comes down to the accuracy with which transactions, payments, refunds and chargebacks are routed between merchants, customers, issuing banks and acquiring banks - and the most important part of this system is based on the specifics of trade identifiers. By linking specific information to sellers, the payment ecosystem can reliably deliver funds to the right businesses.Merchant ID is a specific identification number attached to a business that tells the payment processing systems involved in the transaction where to send which funds. You can think of it as an address for your business. If you do not have a merchant ID, the respective networks will not know where to send your money. Trading identifiers are just as important as bank accounts, and should be considered as such. You open yourself up to vulnerabilities if you spread this number widely, so don't do this if you absolutely don't need to! Once you get your merchant ID, make sure not to lose it due to chargebacks. More here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_account