A legal entity represents a business or organisation that receives payments. Every instance has at least one legal entity, which defaults to "ORG".
Default vs Enterprise
For most merchants, the single default legal entity is all that's needed — it's created automatically when the instance is set up.
Enterprise customers with complex structures (multiple business units, jurisdictions, or charity entities) can configure multiple legal entities. Each legal entity can have its own:
- Company details (name, registration number, VAT number)
- Contact information (address, phone, email)
- Terms and conditions, privacy policy, and support URLs
Relationship to Routes
Legal entities are connected to payment gateways through legal entity routes. A route determines which gateway processes payments for a given legal entity and what currencies and payment methods are supported on that route.