Merchant Risk Live Wrap-up: FIS’ Julie Schwartz on Technical Compliance

For this this episode of Merchant Risk Live, we were joined by Julie Schwartz from FIS, a senior leader of compliance under the global brand compliance team supporting payment brand compliance. Her responsibilities include rules and regulations risk assessment, and other protective measures in the fast-paced technical compliance world.

Here are some of the key takeaways from this episode:

An Overview of FIS

Julie described the three main departments under the FIS system: the original banking side, merchant solutions, and the merchant acquiring side, which is where Julie’s team sits. FIS’s main platform is based in the United States but maintains a global presence by also bringing itself into the Europe and APAC regions.

The implementation of regulation varies geographically, but lessons learned in one jurisdiction can help another. Julie said: “In the US, for example, maybe you're supporting a certain sector that has state-by-state requirements, so you learn how to tackle that. But when you go globally, if you also then go look on the other side in the European region you know that maybe a certain country has something very similar to some of these states, so you know how to then support it in those other regions because you've gotten some best practices.”

Learning to Adapt to Growth

When one company acquires another, a lot of changes necessarily come with it. When FIS acquired Worldpay, it required a lot of adaptation. Julie said one of the core responsibilities of an acquirer is to make sure everyone is compliant. Making sure that their ISOs or their downstream partners are educated and know how to protect their ecosystem, as well as have a good line of communication, is important in making sure everyone has the right tools and information to be a complaint.

She also added that acquiring relationships needs to have good communication in order to be aware of changes and put a plan in action. “Give them as much information as you can so they can absorb mandates and regulations,” she said.

A Fast-Changing and Evolving World

With new sanctions forming, it may be difficult to know where to look and who to trust. Although it may seem that corporations are being threatened by constant change and new sanctions, Julie said, “Corporations — because we have so much knowledge in the ecosystem — will be able to bring in an important conversation because we have so much data and information that can potentially support the endeavors.” By bringing in knowledge and information, they are all playing a crucial role in making sure every region is compliant with the ever-changing world of technology.