# Merchant Website Compliance Checker for Onboarding (`sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker`) Actor

Automated merchant website review for acquirers & PSPs: T\&Cs, refund, privacy, contact details, company number, SSL and prohibited-goods keywords.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Luke Mangan](https://apify.com/sterlingverify) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, E-commerce, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$10.00 / 1,000 site checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Merchant Website Compliance Checker

**Merchant Website Compliance Checker** automates the merchant website review used in onboarding and underwriting: give it merchant URLs and get policy pages, contact details, company and VAT numbers, SSL status and high-risk keyword hits for each site.

**Best for:** Acquirers, PSPs and payment facilitators onboarding merchants, risk and underwriting teams, and ISOs pre-checking prospects.

### What does Merchant Website Compliance Checker do?

Automates the website review that acquirers, PSPs and payment facilitators do at merchant onboarding (card-scheme style checks). For each URL it reports:

- Presence + URL of **Terms & Conditions, Refund/Returns, Privacy, Cookie, Shipping, Contact** pages
- **Contact details**: emails, UK phone numbers, UK postcodes
- **UK company number** and **VAT number** stated on the site (pair with *UK Company Check* actor to verify)
- **SSL**: valid cert, issuer, days to expiry, HTTPS redirect
- **Prohibited / high-risk goods keywords** (CBD, vapes, gambling, crypto, replicas, nutraceutical "free trial" etc. + your own list)
- `flags[]` and a simple `riskScore` 0–100

Heuristic tool: an aid for human underwriters, not a compliance decision.

### How to check a merchant website for onboarding

1. Add merchant website URLs to **Merchant URLs** (`startUrls`).
2. Optionally add your own terms to **Extra prohibited keywords**.
3. Click **Start** and review `flags` and `riskScore` for each site.

### Pricing (pay-per-event)

- `site-checked`: **$0.01** per site ($10 / 1,000).
- Example: 10,000 sites cost $100.00.

### Example input

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk"
  ],
  "maxPolicyPages": 6
}
```

### Example output

Values below are illustrative.

```json
{
  "url": "https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk",
  "ssl": {
    "valid": true,
    "daysToExpiry": 100
  },
  "policies": {
    "termsAndConditions": {
      "found": true
    },
    "refundPolicy": {
      "found": false
    }
  },
  "companyNumbers": [
    "543821"
  ],
  "prohibitedKeywordHits": [],
  "flags": [
    "missing:refundPolicy"
  ],
  "riskScore": 15
}
```

### Use it via API, schedules and integrations

Run it in Apify Console, or call it from your own code with the Apify API or the Python and JavaScript clients. Save an input as a task and add a schedule to run it regularly, and send results to Slack, email, webhooks, Zapier, Make or n8n with Apify integrations. AI agents can find and run it through the Apify MCP server.

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker").call(run_input={"startUrls": ["https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk"]})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

### FAQ

#### Is this a compliance decision?

No. It is a heuristic screening aid for human underwriters, not a compliance or legal determination.

#### Can I verify the company number it finds?

Yes. Pair it with UK Company Check to look the company up on Companies House.

### Disclaimer

Heuristic screening aid for underwriters, not a compliance or legal determination. JavaScript-only sites are reported as unreliable.

Platform usage is included in the per-event price; you pay only for results.

### Related sterlingVerify tools

Part of the sterlingVerify UK payments, KYB and data toolkit on Apify Store:

- [UK Company Check](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/uk-company-check): Companies House, VAT and UK sanctions KYB check in one call
- [MCC Checker](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/mcc-checker): check a merchant's MCC against its website or description
- [PCI Readiness Scanner](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/pci-readiness-scanner): passive checkout security check with a likely SAQ type
- [Payments Stack Detector](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/payments-stack-detector): find which PSPs, wallets and BNPL a store uses
- [UK Sanctions Screener](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/uk-sanctions-screener): fuzzy screening against the UK Sanctions List (FCDO)

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Merchant homepages

## `extraProhibitedKeywords` (type: `array`):

Added to the built-in high-risk list

## `maxPolicyPages` (type: `integer`):

Linked policy pages scanned for keywords/company numbers

## `userAgent` (type: `string`):

Default identifies as a research bot. Some sites block bots (reported as error).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk"
  ],
  "extraProhibitedKeywords": [],
  "maxPolicyPages": 6
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All results in the default dataset

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "startUrls": [
        "https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "startUrls": ["https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk"
  ]
}' |
apify call sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/3nsJ4Lx7CBtU8w2Dt/builds/Cl1KvOme9e0NqrN8J/openapi.json