In Stripe Connect, who is considered the merchant of record?

• A. The platform or the connected account
• B. The buyer's understanding of who they are purchasing from
• C. The merchant's legal entity
• D. The payment processor

Answer: (A)

Merchant of record is the entity that the customer is buying from and that’s legally responsible for the sale, including receipts, refunds, taxes, and compliance. In Stripe Connect, this role isn’t fixed to one party. If you handle charges on the platform and simply transfer funds to connected accounts (destination charges), the platform acts as the merchant of record. If you charge customers directly on the connected accounts (direct charges), then the connected account becomes the merchant of record. So, the merchant of record can be the platform or the connected account depending on how you configure the payment flow.