I was under the assumption that Stripe, PayPal, Square, etc are not payment processors but either payment facilitators or payment gateways (depending on the platform) in that they don't actual process the payments but rather provide a convenient PCI-compliant way of moving the transactions to the actual payment processor (Something like NCR, GlobalPay, Elvaon, etc). In Stripe's case in particular I thought they were a payment facilitator and as a payment facilitator they board you as a sub-merchant which makes the process of getting an MID easier. Is that right or does Stripe actually process payments?
Stripe is a Payment Facilitator, and they pioneered the modern PayFac model. That’s one of the reasons that the word Stripe appears on your credit card statement when you pay someone that is using Stripe. Additionally it means they front the risk of accepting payments on your behalf. They are also a payment processor. Those aren’t exclusive operating models, at least in the US.
