You opened your business and registered the name of the company with the government and perhaps even got a license. Once the name was officially yours, you opened up a bank account to process sales and bills. You also need to open up a merchant account separately from your bank account. This account does the work of  processing all of the credit and debit card purchases that your customers bring to your company.

Officially, the merchant account is established between an acceptor and a merchant acquiring bank. Your own bank may be able to provide these services to you, but keep in  mind that rates differ from bank to bank, so you might want to shop around, just like  you hopefully did before you chose your bank.

Your merchant account is established to allow you to accept payments by credit or debit cards. Some businesses find it beneficial to go through a payment processor or a sales organization.

Other businesses prefer to open this account with the bank that handles their operating account. Your bank may even be happy to offer you better rates for keeping all of your business with them. It might actually be the case that although your bank signed you up, they are just the middleman working as an agent for the processor.

Do your research, because there are differences in how much you get charged. If your bank is happy because they are actually taking a percentage along the way, then you might want to shift the concern back to your happiness, and not theirs.