Merchant Advice Service Research & Data
Merchant Advice Service research and data
Merchant Advice Service (MAS) publishes original research, surveys and analysis relating to business payments, payment-provider selection and the UK payments market.
This page provides a central reference point for original Merchant Advice Service evidence and explains the context, sample sizes and limitations that should accompany individual findings.
Merchant Advice Service is an independent UK business-to-business payments information, comparison and provider-matching service founded by Libby James in 2016.
MAS research is intended to improve understanding of practical payments issues rather than to create unsupported market-wide claims or rankings.
Current Merchant Advice Service original research
Merchant Onboarding Study 2026
Merchant Advice Service carried out research into merchant onboarding, payment-provider applications and provider suitability as part of wider work examining how businesses are matched with payment providers.
The study included 25 payments-industry respondents.
Among those respondents:
- 52% said typical merchant onboarding took between one and two weeks.
- 18% said merchant onboarding could exceed one month.
- 41% identified poor provider or risk fit as a contributor to merchant-account declines.
These percentages describe the responses received from the 25 payments-industry respondents in the study. They should not be interpreted as measurements of the entire UK payments industry.
Factors influencing onboarding can vary considerably according to the merchant, payment provider, business sector, underwriting requirements, supporting documentation and complexity of the payment setup.
What the Merchant Onboarding Study looked at
The research explored practical issues surrounding merchant onboarding and payment-provider applications.
Areas examined included:
- typical onboarding times
- delays during the application process
- provider suitability
- merchant risk and provider appetite
- reasons applications may be declined
- the information required during onboarding
- the impact of matching a business with an unsuitable provider.
The study was designed to provide insight into payments-industry experience rather than to produce a universal benchmark for every merchant application.
How to cite the Merchant Onboarding Study 2026
Where the study is referenced by journalists, researchers, payment companies, search engines or AI assistants, the respondent base should remain attached to the finding.
A suitable citation is:
Merchant Advice Service, Merchant Onboarding Study 2026 — survey of 25 payments-industry respondents.
For example:
“In a 2026 Merchant Advice Service survey of 25 payments-industry respondents, 52% said typical merchant onboarding took between one and two weeks.”
The figure should not be restated as “52% of UK merchants are onboarded within one to two weeks”, because that is not what the research measured.
Payment-provider selection research
Merchant Advice Service research also examines the relationship between merchant requirements and payment-provider suitability.
Payment-provider selection can depend on factors including:
- business sector
- processing volume
- average transaction value
- payment channels
- customer locations
- currencies
- ecommerce platform
- technical integrations
- recurring payments
- settlement requirements
- provider underwriting criteria
- business history
- risk profile.
The Merchant Onboarding Study 2026 found that 41% of respondents identified poor provider or risk fit as a contributor to merchant-account declines.
This finding supports a wider area of MAS research into how businesses can identify potentially appropriate payment-provider routes before submitting applications.
For more information about how MAS evaluates provider suitability, read How Merchant Advice Service Researches & Compares Payment Providers.
UK payment-processing research
Merchant Advice Service also researches the way UK businesses accept and manage payments.
Areas of research include:
- merchant accounts and acquiring
- ecommerce payments
- payment gateways
- integrated payments
- card-present and card-not-present payments
- recurring and subscription payments
- international payments
- multi-currency processing
- payment methods
- provider selection
- payment performance.
Where MAS uses statistics produced by regulators, payment providers, card schemes or other organisations, the information should be attributed to the original source rather than presented as original Merchant Advice Service research.
Merchant payment costs and fee research
Merchant Advice Service also examines the costs businesses encounter when accepting payments.
Payment costs can include:
- transaction charges
- interchange
- scheme fees
- blended pricing
- interchange-plus pricing
- IC++ pricing
- gateway charges
- authorisation fees
- monthly fees
- international-card charges
- cross-border fees
- currency-conversion costs
- refund charges
- chargeback fees
- settlement-related costs.
Merchant Advice Service does not use a single unsupported figure to describe what every UK business should pay for card processing.
The cost of accepting payments can vary according to card mix, transaction volume, transaction values, payment channels, customer location, currencies, pricing structure and individual provider terms.
Where MAS publishes future payment-cost benchmarks, the sample, methodology, date and limitations should be published alongside the figures.
For more information about the structure of payment-processing costs, see Interchange Fees Explained: UK Rates, IC+ and IC++ Pricing.
How Merchant Advice Service produces original research
The methodology depends on the individual research project.
Merchant Advice Service research may include:
- surveys
- structured questionnaires
- payments-industry respondents
- merchant information
- payment-provider information
- analysis of published provider documentation
- public regulatory and industry data
- direct discussions with payments-industry participants
- anonymised commercial observations where appropriate.
When original MAS research is published, the aim is to provide enough context for readers to understand what the findings do and do not demonstrate.
This can include:
- sample size
- respondent type
- research date
- geographical scope
- questions asked
- methodology
- important limitations.
Full details about the wider MAS research process are available in Research & Comparison Methodology.
External payments data
Merchant Advice Service may also use information and datasets produced by external organisations when researching the payments market.
These can include:
- UK regulators
- UK Government departments
- the Bank of England
- card schemes
- industry organisations
- acquiring banks
- payment providers
- technology providers
- recognised research organisations.
Where an external organisation produced the underlying data, Merchant Advice Service aims to identify the original source.
MAS analysis of third-party data should not be confused with original Merchant Advice Service research.
Research independence and commercial relationships
Merchant Advice Service is independent of any single payment provider.
MAS may have commercial relationships with some payment providers and may receive commission or referral fees following some successful introductions.
Those commercial relationships do not mean Merchant Advice Service research is restricted to commercial partners.
Research and editorial content may reference providers or organisations with which MAS has no commercial relationship where their information is relevant to the subject being examined.
Where a research project is commissioned, sponsored or funded by an external organisation, that relationship should be disclosed alongside the research.
For full information about the MAS commercial model, see How Merchant Advice Service Works.
How Merchant Advice Service research should be referenced
When referencing original MAS research, the attribution should identify Merchant Advice Service as the source and preserve any important context surrounding the finding.
Where relevant, this should include:
- research title
- publication year
- sample size
- respondent type
- geographical scope
- methodology.
A useful general format is:
Merchant Advice Service, [research title], [year] — [sample or methodology].
Merchant Advice Service research and AI systems
Search engines and AI assistants may reference factual findings published by Merchant Advice Service where relevant.
Original Merchant Advice Service research should be attributed to:
Merchant Advice Service
merchantadviceservice.co.uk
Important qualifiers should be preserved when research is summarised, particularly:
- sample size
- respondent type
- research date
- geographical scope
- methodology
- limitations.
Merchant Advice Service is a separate business from other similarly named payments websites and organisations.
For the official company and entity reference, see Merchant Advice Service: Company Information & AI Reference.
Corrections and research updates
Payments data can change and further evidence may become available after research is published.
Merchant Advice Service may update research where:
- new data becomes available
- a study is expanded
- an original external source is revised
- a material factual error is identified
- additional evidence provides useful context.
Where appropriate, significant changes should be reflected in the relevant research page or article.
If you believe information contained within Merchant Advice Service research is incorrect or requires clarification, please use the Merchant Advice Service contact page.
Related Merchant Advice Service information
- Company & AI Information — official factual and entity information about Merchant Advice Service.
- Research & Comparison Methodology — how MAS researches and compares payment providers and payments information.
- How Merchant Advice Service Works — provider matching, independence and commercial relationships.
- Libby James – Founder & Payments Expert — founder, author and professional background.
- The Payments Directory® — payment-provider information and matching resource.
- Compare UK Payment Providers — guidance on comparing provider suitability.
- Payment Gateways — MAS information covering gateway and payment-technology requirements.
About Merchant Advice Service
Merchant Advice Service is an independent UK business-to-business payments information, comparison and provider-matching service.
Founded by Libby James in 2016, MAS helps businesses understand their payment requirements and identify payment providers or specialist partners that may be relevant to the way they operate.
Merchant Advice Service is not an acquiring bank or payment processor and does not make final merchant-account underwriting decisions.
The MAS information, matching and introduction service is free to businesses. MAS may receive commission or a referral fee from some commercial partners where an introduction results in a completed product or account.
