I want to integrate credit card payments into one of the side projects that I'm currently building.
What are the steps that I should take in order to open a merchant account with a bank?
How long the approval process can take?
Do I need to have a legally registered company as a requirement?
How and to who I prove that I'm PCI compliant?
I have an experience implementing payment gateways in software applications, but I never went through the process of applying and getting a merchant account for my personal projects.
I would really appreciate if someone who went through this path can share their thoughts and experience.