The following are FAQs about the Merchant Onboarding process for using the D-Tools Payments solution.
Q: What information is required for Merchant Onboarding?
A: You will need to provide basic business details, ownership information, bank account information, and accurate processing volumes.
Check out this article for more details.
Q: Will D-Tools require any additional verification for Merchant Onboarding?
When you apply to accept payments through D-Tools Payments, we review your application before approving your account. In most cases, the information you provide during onboarding is enough for us to approve your account. Occasionally, we need to verify a few additional details about your business before you can start processing payments.
Additional verification helps us confirm your business details and keep your account secure and compliant. We may ask for more information when:
The information provided doesn't match our records — for example, your business name doesn't align with your Tax ID.
We're unable to confirm that your business is actively registered.
We need enhanced verification based on your processing volume or business type.
Q: What are the Onboarding statuses when additional verification is required?
A: If your onboarding requires additional verification, your application will move into one of two statuses:
Needs Information: You can resolve the open items yourself through the self-service verification process. You'll be prompted for exactly what's needed and can submit it directly.
In Review: We need additional information that can't be resolved through the self-service process. In this case, our team will contact you directly to let you know what's required.
Q: What are the reasons when additional verification is required?
The table below lists the reasons additional verification may be requested and what you'll need to provide for each.
Reason | What we need from you |
Business Tax ID Number | We couldn't match your business's legal name to its Tax ID (EIN). Confirm your legal business name and Tax ID exactly as they appear on your IRS records so we can reconcile the two. |
Business Verification | We couldn't confirm that your business is actively registered. Provide a recent business license or Secretary of State filing (see accepted documents below). |
Funding Deposit Method | We weren't able to confirm that the bank account where you'll receive payouts is open, active, and belongs to your business. Update your bank details, or provide a voided check or bank letter. |
Billing Deposit Method | We weren't able to confirm the bank account used for billing (this applies to gross billing only). Update your billing bank details, or provide a voided check or bank letter. |
Financial Review 1 | We need additional information to complete a financial review of your business. Provide three months of processing statements OR three months of bank statements. |
Financial Review 2 | We need additional information to complete a financial review of your business. Provide three months of processing statements, three months of bank statements, AND two or more years of financial statements. |
Owner Name / SSN (Owners 1–4) | We couldn't match a listed owner's name and Social Security Number. Confirm that the owner's full legal name and SSN exactly match those on IRS records. This can apply to any listed owner. |
Other | We need additional information that can't be resolved through the self-service process. We'll contact you directly to let you know what's required. |
Financial Review 1 and Financial Review 2 are never requested together — you'll only be asked for one, based on the level of review needed.
Q: What are the documents requested when additional verification is required?
#1 Business verification documents
If we need to confirm your business registration, you can provide any one of the following:
DBA registration
Articles of Incorporation
Certificate of Formation
Partnership Agreement
State Business License
Certificate of Status
Corporate Bylaws or LLC Operating Agreement
Stock Certificates
Business Tax Returns
#2 Bank account verification
To verify a funding (payout) or billing bank account, provide one of the following. Each must show all of the details listed:
Voided check: must include the bank name, your business's legal name and address, routing number, and account number.
Bank letter: must include the bank name, your business's legal name and address, routing number, and account number.
#3 Financial review documents
If a financial review is required, you may be asked to provide the following. Each document must include the details listed:
Document | How much | Must include |
Processing statements | 3 months | Processor name, your business name, statement period, processing volume, transaction count, adjustments, and fees. |
Bank statements | 3 months | Bank name, account number, your business name, statement period, balance information, and transaction activity. |
Financial statements | 2 years | Balance sheet and profit & loss (P&L) statements. |
Tax returns | 2 most recent years | Your two most recent years of filed business tax returns. |
Q: Why do I need to provide accurate processing volumes during Merchant Onboarding?
A: When onboarding merchant accounts, the Underwriting and Risk team at D-Tools relies on your Average Monthly Volume, Average Ticket, and Maximum Ticket size to assess your account and establish appropriate processing thresholds.
Inaccurate figures may result in funding delays or payment holds.
Check out this article for more details.
Q: Why is information related to the business owners required during Merchant Onboarding?
D-Tools Payments and our banking partners are required to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Under this law, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires a Customer Identification Program (CIP) to verify the beneficial owners and controlling members of every business that accepts payments. These requirements help prevent money laundering, terrorism financing, and other financial crimes.
Because of this, collecting and verifying beneficial owner information is a standard, required part of payment onboarding — it applies to all businesses, not just yours.
Check out FinCen documentation for more details.
Q: Who is a beneficial owner in a business?
All beneficial owners of your business must be verified. A beneficial owner is any individual who meets either of the following conditions:
Ownership: directly or indirectly owns or controls 25% or more of the business.
Substantial control: directly or indirectly exercises substantial control over the business. Whether someone has substantial control depends on the authority they hold — for example, a CEO or other senior officer.
You'll need to identify individuals in both categories. In some cases the same person qualifies under both — for example, a sole proprietor who owns and runs the business, or a nonprofit founder who manages day-to-day operations.
Sole proprietorship: the owner must be listed as a beneficial owner.
Nonprofit: a founder who runs the organization's operations must be listed as a substantial-control holder.
Q: What information related to the beneficial owners is required during Merchant Onboarding?
For each beneficial owner, we'll typically ask for and verify the following personal information:
Information | Details |
Full legal name | The beneficial owner's name as it appears on government records. |
Residential address | The owner's home address. |
Date of birth | The owner's date of birth. |
Social Security Number (SSN) | The owner's SSN, used to confirm identity against government records. |
Depending on your business's legal structure or the results of verification, we may ask for additional information to complete the review.
Please make sure all beneficial owner information is complete and accurate. Under the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, penalties apply for knowingly providing false or fraudulent information when opening a financial account.
Q: What is Real-Time Underwriting Verification?
A: The Underwriting and Risk team at D-Tools must verify that the information provided in every merchant application is accurate. Many of these verifications occur after an application is submitted. Still, some can be completed in real time before submission, reducing data entry errors and potentially expediting the application approval process.
By default, the system checks three areas in real time: tax ID, owner's Social Security number, and bank account information.
Check out this article for more details.
Q: What is the timeline for the creation of Merchant accounts?
A: We review most of the Merchant account applications within 1–2 business days, and Merchant accounts are created if the application has all the details and meets all compliance requirements.
Merchant accounts that process high-volume transactions may require additional documentation, and approval may take more than 2 business days.