---
title: "Marketplace account structure"
description: "Understand your account structures to design a marketplace that suits your business needs."
url: "https://docs.adyen.com/marketplaces/account-structure-resources/marketplace-structure"
source_url: "https://docs.adyen.com/marketplaces/account-structure-resources/marketplace-structure.md"
canonical: "https://docs.adyen.com/marketplaces/account-structure-resources/marketplace-structure"
last_modified: "2026-05-27T15:14:07+02:00"
language: "en"
---

# Marketplace account structure

Understand your account structures to design a marketplace that suits your business needs.

[View source](/marketplaces/account-structure-resources/marketplace-structure.md)

As a marketplace, you process online payments on behalf of your users. Customers recognize that they are doing business directly with your marketplace.

## Account structure

To comply with payment scheme regulations, you must have a balance platform and merchant account in [each region that you are registered and wish to acquire payments](/marketplaces#acquiring-regions).

If you are a global marketplace with multiregional sellers who can transfer funds to each other:

* You must have a single balance platform for all your acquiring regions.
* You cannot offer additional financial products to your users.

In the following example, you have a company called **Online Marketplace**. You process online payments for your users, who operate in two acquiring regions (**EU** and **US**) and three different countries/areas (**NL**, **DE**, and **US**).

You can classify resources based on whether they belong to your marketplace or to your user(s).

### Resources belonging to your marketplace

* A company account that represents your business entity: **OnlineMarketplaceLLC**.

* Three merchant accounts, organized by country/region:

  * **OnlineMarketplace\_NL**
  * **OnlineMarketplace\_DE**
  * **OnlineMarketplace\_US**

* Two balance platforms, one for each region in which you acquire payments (**EU** and **US**):

  * **OnlineMarketplace\_EU**
  * **OnlineMarketplace\_US**

* A liable account holder, and a liable balance account to hold your marketplace's funds.

* A legal entity in each acquiring region, containing information about your marketplace. This information is needed for required Know Your Customer (KYC) verification checks.

### Resources belonging to each user

* At least one account holder for each country your user operates in, defining their payment processing capabilities.

* For each account holder, at least one balance account with a defined base currency, to hold your user's funds.

* For each balance account, a [transfer instrument (verified bank account)](/marketplaces/account-structure-resources/legal-entity-management) to pay out that account's funds.

* A legal entity in each country your user operates in, containing information about their business. This information is needed for required Know Your Customer (KYC) verification checks.

### Diagram

The following diagram shows how these resources are connected.

[![Diagram of an example account structure for marketplace](/user/pages/docs/04.marketplaces/01.account-structure-resources/01.marketplace-structure/marketplaces.svg)](/user/pages/docs/04.marketplaces/01.account-structure-resources/01.marketplace-structure/marketplaces.svg)

## Flow of funds

When a customer in the Netherlands pays for goods or services offered by your user:

1. The payment is processed in the **OnlineMarketplace\_NL** merchant account.
2. The funds are settled in the balance accounts of your **OnlineMarketplace\_EU** balance platform.
3. The funds are kept in your user's balance accounts until they are paid out.
4. You pay out to the account holder's transfer instrument (verified bank account).

* [Onboarding steps](/marketplaces/onboard-users/onboarding-steps)
* [Legal entities](/marketplaces/manage-legal-entities)
* [Account holders](/marketplaces/manage-account-holders)
* [Balance accounts](/marketplaces/manage-balance-accounts)