The Real Risks Payment Facilitators and Marketplaces Face and How to Stay Ahead (Part 2)

In Part 1, we established that real risk flows upward. Now, we need to look at exactly what is flowing up that chain.

Visa’s latest reports break down exactly what keeps Acquirers awake at night. If you are a Payment Facilitator (PayFac) or a Marketplace, these aren't just theoretical concerns, they are the specific pitfalls that can cause your Acquirer to pull the plug on your processing capabilities.

Here is a deep dive into the four critical risk areas you need to master, and how to turn compliance into a competitive advantage.

1. Third-Party Agent Risk: The Weakest Link?

You might trust your internal team, but what about the partners you rely on? In the eyes of the card networks, you are judged by the company you keep.

Visa’s Global Acquirer Risk Standards (GARS) are the rulebook here. They demand that Acquirers maintain continuous, eagle-eyed oversight of their agents. If an agent (like a sales partner or a tech provider) exhibits questionable activity or lacks proper controls, the Acquirer is mandated to terminate the relationship.

The Reality Check:

Poorly managed agents can devastate an Acquirer’s brand. If your agents are onboarding fraudulent merchants or cutting corners on compliance, you are the one who will face the consequences.

How PayConsults Helps:

We don’t just tell you to "watch your agents." We help Payment Service Providers (PSPs) build transparent onboarding frameworks. We ensure your operations are fully compliant with GARS and assist in setting up ongoing risk monitoring systems so you can spot a bad actor before they damage your reputation.

2. Merchant Risk: Not Everyone Plays Fair

Onboarding more merchants equals more revenue, right? Yes, but only if those merchants are legitimate. Visa flags three common problem areas that every PayFac must screen for:

• Misleading Practices: Merchants using deceptive marketing or hidden terms.

• Dispute Overload: Businesses with excessive chargebacks (a sign of unhappy customers or fraud).

• High-Brand-Risk Industries: Sectors like adult entertainment, gaming, crypto, or nutraceuticals.

The "High-Risk" Badge of Honor

If you operate in these verticals, you can't fly under the radar. PayFacs working with these categories must be registered as High-Risk Internet Payment Facilitators (HRIPF).

Far from being a penalty, this distinction is a shield. It allows for stricter controls and transparent reporting, giving your Acquirer the confidence they need to keep sponsoring your business despite the inherent risks.

3. Transaction Laundering: The Invisible Threat

This is arguably the most sophisticated and dangerous fraud tactic in the ecosystem today.

What is it?

Transaction laundering occurs when an illegal or prohibited business sets up a legitimate-looking "front" website (like a generic bookstore or electronics shop) to process payments for forbidden goods (like drugs or illicit content).

To the system, it looks like a book sale. In reality, it’s a crime.

The Liability:

Visa explicitly holds Acquirers, PayFacs, and Marketplaces liable for this. You cannot use the excuse "we didn't know." You are expected to know.

The PayConsults Shield:

Detection is difficult, but not impossible. We help clients deploy advanced detection stacks, including:

Merchant Monitoring: Scanning websites for hidden links or content changes.

Velocity Checks: Flagging transaction volumes that don't match the business type (e.g., a small bookstore processing $50k overnight).

BIN Filtering: Tailoring acceptance to filter out risky card types.

4. The "No-Go" Zones: Illegal and Prohibited Content

There are gray areas in payments, and then there are the red lines. Visa has explicit, non-negotiable bans on specific content. Processing payments for these is not a compliance issue; it is a violation of network rules that can end your business.

The Red List Includes:

• Unlicensed pharmaceuticals and counterfeit goods.

• Mis-coded gambling operations.

• Rogue cyberlockers (file-sharing sites hosting pirated content).

• CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) and non-consensual adult content.

The Consequence:

Platforms caught processing these don't just face fines. You face permanent blacklisting (via the MATCH list) from major card networks. Once you are on that list, getting a merchant account anywhere in the world becomes nearly impossible.

Prevention Is Your Profit Strategy

Visa’s risk framework can feel overwhelming. There are acronyms, regulations, and strict standards everywhere you look.

But if you take one thing away from this, let it be this: Prevention is profitability.

A robust risk management strategy does more than keep the regulators away. It lowers your financial losses, reduces chargeback ratios, and cuts down on expensive operational fire drills.

Ready to build a safer, stronger payment stack?

At PayConsults, we empower high-risk merchants, PayFacs, and marketplaces to navigate this complex landscape. We don't just help you survive the scrutiny, we help you build the kind of compliant, robust payment infrastructure that keeps revenue flowing and Acquirers confident.

Let’s secure your growth. Contact us today to assess your risk readiness.