What it means for a research store
In an all-in-one processor, the gateway, merchant account and payout are bundled together. In the traditional model they are separate: the merchant holds a merchant account with an acquiring bank and connects it to the store through a gateway such as Authorize.net or NMI. The gateway handles tokenisation, fraud screening settings and the transaction record.
Separating the gateway from the merchant account matters for research-supply stores because it lets a store change acquiring bank without rebuilding checkout, and it is how many high-risk merchant accounts are delivered.
When evaluating a store platform, ask which gateways it supports natively, whether card data stays out of your own servers, how refunds and partial refunds work through each gateway, and whether the order record shows the gateway’s transaction identifier for reconciliation.
How Torva OS handles it
Torva OS supports Stripe (with embedded onboarding) for cards; the Authorize.net and NMI gateways are coming this week. Card data goes to the provider, not to the merchant.
Related guides
Updated September 25, 2026. General information for merchants, not legal, tax or financial advice. This glossary does not describe the use of any compound in people.
