Do you really know your merchants?

Discover the power of automated merchant due diligence today, with no obligations

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Used by global players in payments

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Get to know your merchants

Merchant due diligence solutions, built for growth

Our solutions help acquiring banks, payment service providers, and payment facilitators in compliance, risk assessment, and merchant due diligence. Understand your merchants better to ensure sustainable portfolio growth.

Why compliance matters

Compliance with local laws and card scheme rules like BRAM or VIRP is essential for avoiding fines or non-compliance assessments.

How to assess your merchants

Web Shield's solutions simplify the merchant onboarding process by offering a full suite of tools to meet complex rules with ease, ensuring safe and compliant growth.

What effective monitoring means

A growing merchant portfolio needs to be safeguarded. Use our ongoing merchant and website screening to stay ahead of card scheme requirements and manage your risks.

"Web Shield's solutions have automated a large part of our underwriting and monitoring procedures, mitigating the risk of human error simultaneously."

Edgars Valmers

Head of E-Commerce and Payment Card Department, LPB Bank

FAQs

New to the payments industry? We have answers to common questions.

What is merchant due diligence?

Merchant due diligence is a specialised part of customer due diligence and in extension, Know Your Business (KYB). It includes the initial and ongoing review of a company with which a payment provider like an acquiring bank is conducting business. It aims to verify the identity and authenticity of potential merchants to prevent financial crimes like money laundering and ensure compliance with card association rules like Mastercard's BRAM program or Visa's VIRP. Essential elements of merchant due diligence are the underwriting process at onboarding and ongoing monitoring.

What is a merchant?

A merchant is a company that sells goods or services to consumers or other businesses. When merchants want access to card payments for their business, they apply with an acquiring bank, payment service provider, or similar institution. This means they must complete an application process that collects key data like the merchant's address, directors, company registration, ultimate beneficial owner, and more. The bank or payment provider will then underwrite the merchant during the onboarding process.

What is merchant underwriting?

For acquiring banks or other payment providers, underwriting means investigating a merchant and their websites for signs of fraud, non-compliance with card scheme rules or local regulations, and other risk factors. It traditionally involves reviewing all data provided in the merchant application. Merchant underwriting happens during the merchant onboarding process and culminates in accepting or declining a merchant application.

What is an acquiring bank?

For acquiring banks or other payment providers, underwriting means investigating a merchant and their websites for signs of fraud, non-compliance with card scheme rules or local regulations, and other risk factors. It traditionally involves reviewing all data provided in the merchant application. Merchant underwriting happens during the merchant onboarding process and culminates in accepting or declining a merchant application.

What is the Business Risk Assessment and Mitigation program (BRAM)?

Launched in 2005, the BRAM program is designed to protect Mastercard and its customers from illegal and brand-damaging transactions which may pose significant fraud, regulatory and legal risk or cause reputational damage. It is one of the two main rule sets Web Shield's solutions and underwriters work with.

What is the Visa Integrity Risk Program (VIRP)?

In 2023, the Visa Integrity Risk Program replaced the Global Brand Protection Program (GBPP). The program formalises the rights and responsibilities of both Visa and connected acquiring banks around high-integrity risk merchants and illegal transactions. Among other obligations, acquirers must register merchants in specific sectors with Visa before signing them. It is one of the two main rule sets Web Shield's solutions and underwriters work with.

What is a Merchant Monitoring Service Provider (MMSP)?

Web Shield is an official Mastercard Merchant Monitoring Service Provider. That means that Mastercard Principal Members can expect mitigation for penalties by Mastercard resulting from non-compliance issues.

Web Shield blog

Regulation, fraud, and expert knowledge

We keep you updated on card scheme rules, fraud trends, underwriting best practices, and Web Shield products.

Let us enable your card scheme compliance

We help you comply with card scheme rules faster and more efficiently, so your organisation can focus on the tasks that generate revenue and add value.