ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Merchant services

Merchant services are like a special helper for people who own stores or businesses. These helpers help them to take payments from their customers. Have you ever been to a store and paid for something with a card? The person who owns the store needs a special helper to be able to take your payment. This helper is called a merchant service.

The merchant service is special because it helps the store owner to take different types of payments, like credit cards, debit cards, or even payments from a mobile phone. You might have seen someone tap their phone on a machine to make a payment? Merchant services help to make that happen too!

But the merchant service doesn't just take the payment, it also helps to make sure that the money goes to the right place. So if you buy a toy from a store, the store owner needs to make sure that the money you paid goes into their account, and not somebody else's. The merchant service helps them to do that, and keeps everyone's money safe.

Merchant services are like a superhero for store owners because they make it easy for them to take payments and keep track of their money.