Merchant Risk Live Wrap-up: Deana Rich and Caroline Hometh on PFs and Marketplaces

The Landscape of the Payments Industry

Caroline said that the payment industry has always been dynamic and innovative, but especially in the last several years. She expects this trend to continue: “It is a fertile ground for consultants due to the number of questions and opportunities in the industry.”

Innovation is a core quality of payments facilitators because they grow from creative people who see a problem and fill the gap. However, these people often don’t think about risk, fraud, or anti-money laundering, which Deana said isn’t only about underwriting in the business but also about being able to understand the risk and consequences that come along with it.

There are generational differences that cause differences in approaches to payments. Being able to adapt in the industry is vital, and young minds bring in a fresh perspective with new ideas on how to do transactions faster and more efficiently within the payments compliance ecosystem.

Acquirers and Regulators' Duties

Ongoing training and audits are essential to ensuring strong compliance measures. But both Caroline and Deana said it is important for the payments industry to police itself by making sure companies abide by the laws and regulations instead of solely relying on the contract of ISO and banks. They said most regulators are flexible about marketplace innovation around compliance as long as it meets regulatory requirements.

Driving Growth in Payments

The combination of new payment methods and ones being pulled from the ISO model of sales and marketing is driving growth in the industry. Although the US is a large economy, a good portion of the growth in payments is coming from outside the country.

One of the common reasons for failure or lack of growth is when a company lacks verticals and when it tends to overlook the responsibilities of payments, causing it to fall short on compliance. There are different types of compliance, but especially for new entrants coming into the marketplace, a way to achieve growth is through implementing compliance effectively.

Want to join us live?

The Merchant Risk Live is a biweekly virtual event to discuss trends in merchant risk management with guest experts in payments risk and compliance. Some of the topics include creating effective risk rules, making transaction monitoring and content monitoring work together, getting federal regulation updates, and more! If you’re interested in joining the biweekly live event, sign up today.