We have a mantra at Paynovate, which says High Risk as Low Risk.
Risk has become a key focus for everyone in the financial services industry and Paynovate considers itself at the forefront of the efforts to safeguards its customers’ businesses.
As for the background, an increasing number of businesses are now considered high risk by their banks and other financial institutions.
Online gambling, cryptocurrency and adult entertainment would be top of the list, but businesses who operate in say the travel or pharmaceutical industries can also be considered high risk. Others simply qualify as High Risk because of the countries they are dealing with, sometimes over many years with no significant issues.
The pitfalls here are huge and the onus is on the operator of the company, you.
It’s easy to say of course you can avoid risky products, or equally risky customers, but we all know it's not that easy. If just one element of your company is outside of the usual profile, or standard, then the term high-risk could be laid at your door very quickly.
And the penalties for being branded a high-risk company are potentially huge. These could include limited options for payment gateways, higher processing fees, more stringent regulations and limited acceptance by the financial services community.
The perception of risk is also quite detailed.
On a base level, risk also comes down to your own customer base. Can your customers pay, will they pay, are they using a fake ID, are they laundering money through your business, are they money mules, or are they criminals, or terrorists? But it also covers those companies without good customer service which, for example, could build uncomfortable levels of debt via unsustainable refunds, or countless legal issues which cost money to resolve.
The financial industry is obligated by its regulators to identify high-risk customers and ensure any risk involved is legitimate and can be controlled. This comes down to Know Your Client (KYC), meaning financial institutions need to know and understand their client’s business.
At Paynovate, we have what we believe is a unique approach, one which we call High Risk as Low Risk. Importantly, we take a systemic approach to eliminate businesses and industries that do not fit with our reasonable approach to risk management.
What’s more, we place strict measures of control in place throughout the lifetime of our customers, from onboarding to ongoing transaction monitoring.
In other words, we take further initiatives and proactive steps than many of our competitors, which ensures that as a customer of Paynovate, most of the heavy lifting has been completed for you. And we do a lot to ensure that you stay on the right side of the risk definitions.
Always remember our mantra, High Risk as Low Risk.
