ETA Announces Updated Payment Facilitator Guidelines

Guidelines underscore ETA’s commitment to bring resources to the payments industry to ensure a strong ecosystem and reduce fraud. 

Washington, D.C., September 27, 2018 – –The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the global trade association representing the payments technology industry, today released the second version of the ETA Payment Facilitator Guidelines to reflect the latest industry rule changes. The Guidelines were developed as a tool to assist in the risk management of the payments industry and to provide guidance to payment facilitators to maintain their risk programs.

“ETA and our member companies are committed to maintaining robust risk management programs,” said Jason Oxman, CEO of ETA. “The update to the Payment Facilitator Guidelines offers an important piece of our efforts to promote best practices and responsible self-regulation in the payments technology ecosystem. Payment facilitators are an important constituency in the evolution of payments technology, providing innovative solutions to the marketplace.”

“ETA has established itself as the hub for the payment facilitator community. All players in this space need to be a part of the ETA and participate in efforts to advance the industry. With just over a year of inception we have had amazing collaboration leveraging the expertise between payment facilitators, card networks and acquiring banks which will continue to lead to ensuring that we expand this sector while protecting all parties involved,” said Mike McGirr, SVP Risk and Compliance, Adyen and Chair, ETA Payment Facilitator Committee.

The Guidelines are grounded in the Operating Regulations of the various payment networks, existing governmental regulations, and industry best practices for risk management. They are a tool to assist those developing risk management policies within the payments industry. The updated version includes changes to beneficial ownership requirements as well as expanded thresholds for submerchants.

The Guidelines also serve as the core of ETA’s Self-Regulation Program (SRP), which provides ISOs, payment facilitators and acquirers the ability to demonstrate reliability and industry acumen by attesting that they adopt and utilize either the ETA Guidelines on Merchant and ISO Underwriting and Risk Monitoring or the ETA Payment Facilitator Guidelines.

ETA’s Payment Facilitator Committee will meet at ETA’s Strategic Leadership Forum, the premier annual executive-level payments industry event on October 2-4, 2018.

For questions on the Guidelines or ETA SRP, please contact Amy Zirkle, [email protected].