---
title: "Platform account structure"
description: "Understand your account structure to design a platform that suits your business needs."
url: "https://docs.adyen.com/platforms/account-structure-resources/platform-structure"
source_url: "https://docs.adyen.com/platforms/account-structure-resources/platform-structure.md"
canonical: "https://docs.adyen.com/platforms/account-structure-resources/platform-structure"
last_modified: "2026-06-01T15:33:15+02:00"
language: "en"
---

# Platform account structure

Understand your account structure to design a platform that suits your business needs.

[View source](/platforms/account-structure-resources/platform-structure.md)

##### Account structure webinar

[Watch our on-demand webinar](https://vimeo.com/1029168514/4a2e8f16ff?share=copy) to learn about Adyen's account structure for platforms.

As a platform, your users have a contractual relationship with the payment methods, while you maintain a relationship with your users. Customers typically interact directly with your platform's users, not with your platform. You can process both online and in-person payments for your users.

## Payment facilitators

Your platform account setup differs from the general platforms in the following cases:

* You are already registered with Visa or Mastercard as a payment facilitator.
* You have individuals as your users who want to accept in-person payments.
* You have users with high-risk Merchant Category Codes (MCCs).

In these cases, you are onboarding to Adyen for Platforms as a payment facilitator.

## 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](/platforms#acquiring-regions).

In the following example, you have a company called **Example Travel LLC**. You process in-person 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 platform or to your user(s).

### Resources belonging to your platform

* A company account (**ExampleTravelLLC**), that represents your business entity.

* Three merchant accounts, organized by country/region (**NL**, **DE**, and **US**):

  * **ExampleTravel\_NL**
  * **ExampleTravel\_DE**
  * **ExampleTravel\_US**

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

  * **ExampleTravel\_EU**.
  * **ExampleTravel\_US**.

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

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

### Resources belonging to each user

* One or more stores tied to the respective merchant accounts (based on country of operation), representing the physical locations of your user's businesses:

  * **TravelAgency\_AMS**
  * **TravelAgency\_BER**
  * **TravelAgency\_NYC**

* 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)](/platforms/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.

* A business line in each country your user operates in, containing information about their industry. In this case, it is travel arrangements and reservation services.

### Diagram

The following diagram shows how these resources are connected.

[![Diagram of an example account structure for payment facilitators](/user/pages/docs/05.platforms/01.account-structure-resources/01.platform-structure/platforms.svg)](/user/pages/docs/05.platforms/01.account-structure-resources/01.platform-structure/platforms.svg)

## Flow of funds

When a customer in Amsterdam, Netherlands pays for a trip offered by one of your users:

1. The payment is routed through the **ExampleTravel\_AMS** store, and processed in the **ExampleTravel\_NL** merchant account.
2. The funds are settled in the balance accounts in the **ExampleTravel\_EU** balance platform.\
   In this example, you specify to split the funds between your liable balance account and the account holder's balance accounts.
3. The funds are kept in the account holder's balance accounts until they are paid out.
4. You pay out to the account holder's verified transfer instrument (bank account).
