Merchant Onboarding: Global Regulatory Update - August 2026

August’s regulatory updates show merchant onboarding becoming more dependent on stronger risk visibility, more structured data, and consistent decision-making across the merchant lifecycle. Regulators are tightening expectations around sanctions exposure, beneficial ownership, AML/CTF controls, emerging payment models, and the quality of information used to support onboarding decisions.

In this update (for merchant onboarding and compliance teams):

What changed: August brought significant developments across sanctions, beneficial ownership reporting, stablecoin regulation, AML/CTF supervision, PEP controls, and regulatory reporting. Together, these changes point to greater scrutiny of who sits behind a business, how merchants operate, and where financial and regulatory risk can enter the relationship.

Why it matters: Merchant onboarding teams increasingly need to look beyond basic business and identity checks. Ownership, sanctions exposure, regulatory standing, payment methods, and existing AML controls are becoming more important inputs into risk assessment, while clear audit trails and ongoing monitoring remain critical to supporting defensible decisions.

Regulatory signals:

• Sanctions risk is expanding beyond direct list matches to include ownership, counterparties, financial relationships, and wider business exposure.
• Beneficial ownership and PEP risk continue to require stronger verification and more proportionate risk-based controls.
• Stablecoin regulation is increasing the importance of understanding which payment methods and issuers merchants rely on.
• Regulators are placing greater emphasis on AML controls, structured data, auditability, and ongoing oversight, not just point-in-time compliance.

What to do next:

• Strengthen KYB/KYC capture so ownership, business activity, regulatory status, payment methods, and relevant relationships are collected upfront.
• Use structured data and real-time validation to identify inconsistencies and higher-risk exposure earlier in onboarding.
• Apply risk-based workflows so enhanced due diligence and escalation are triggered only where required.
• Maintain ongoing monitoring and clear audit trails so material changes can be identified and acted on without unnecessary remediation.

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🇺🇸 United States

Sanctions Update: Syria State Sponsor of Terrorism Rescission 

Effective date: 24 August 2026 

Issued by: U.S. Department of the Treasury, via the Department of State and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) 

Applies to: Financial institutions, PSPs, correspondent banks, and merchant onboarding/compliance teams assessing Syria-linked or Iran-adjacent customer and counterparty risk.

Summary:

• What: On 24 August 2026, the U.S. State Department rescinded Syria's 47-year designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and delisted Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist; OFAC removed HTS as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) the same day.
• Why: The move follows the Trump administration's 8 July 2026 notification to Congress and reflects the completion of a year-long sanctions relief process supporting Syria's post-Assad government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
• What's Next: Broader trade and financial restrictions on Syria continue to ease, though targeted sanctions on Assad-era actors and human rights abusers remain in place; onboarding teams should expect a gradual increase in legitimate Syria-linked merchant activity.

Key changes:

• Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, held since 1979, has been formally rescinded, lifting a major legal barrier to investment and financial engagement.
• HTS was simultaneously delisted as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization and removed from OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List).
• Targeted sanctions on Assad-era individuals, entities, and human rights abusers remain in place despite the broader easing of restrictions. 

What this means for merchant onboarding teams: 

For merchant onboarding teams, the practical impact is a change in how Syria-related jurisdiction and sanctions risk may need to be assessed. The removal of Syria’s State Sponsor of Terrorism designation does not remove the need to identify and screen merchants, beneficial owners, and related parties that may still be subject to targeted sanctions.

Teams with historical Syria-specific risk rules may also need to review whether those controls still reflect the current sanctions position, particularly where previous decisions were driven by Syria’s former designation rather than entity-specific risk.

Recommended actions:

• Update jurisdiction risk ratings for Syria to reflect the SST rescission, while confirming remaining targeted sanctions on Assad-era individuals and entities are still screened for.
• Re-screen historical high-risk, escalated, or declined merchant files where Syria’s former designation materially affected the onboarding decision. 
• Confirm sanctions screening continues to identify Assad-era individuals, entities, and other parties that remain subject to targeted restrictions.
• Review Syria-specific onboarding and escalation rules to ensure they reflect current jurisdiction and entity-level risk.
• Monitor further changes to export licensing and dual-use restrictions as additional Commerce Department action develops.

How OnBoard helps: 

OnBoard helps merchant onboarding teams adjust Syria-related risk controls as sanctions and jurisdiction classifications change. 

• PEP and Sanctions Screening checks merchants and related parties against sanctions lists and high-risk designations in real time, helping teams identify parties that remain subject to targeted restrictions. 
• Automated KYB and business verification helps onboarding teams verify a merchant's jurisdiction and sector exposure against trusted global data sources, supporting stronger due diligence for higher-risk jurisdictions.
• Customizable risk workflows automatically apply enhanced due diligence and escalation for merchants linked to newly re-rated jurisdictions or sanctioned sectors.
• Ongoing Customer Due Diligence (OCDD) continuously re-screens onboarded merchants as sanctions lists and jurisdiction classifications change, flagging exposure that emerges after approval.

Source: U.S. Department of State & summary of U.S. sanctions and export control relief for Syria

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Regulation name: FinCEN Final Rule on Corporate Transparency Act Beneficial Ownership Reporting 

Effective date: 14 August 2026 

Issued by: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) 

Applies to: Banks, PSPs, KYB/beneficial ownership compliance teams, and any merchant onboarding programme that collects beneficial ownership information on U.S. or foreign entities.

Summary:

• What: On 11 August 2026, FinCEN issued a final rule making permanent the exemption for U.S. small businesses and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) under the Corporate Transparency Act, effective 14 August 2026.
• Why: The rule finalizes the exemptions first introduced in the March 2025 interim final rule, following the administration's push to reduce reporting burdens on small businesses.
• What's Next: FinCEN will delete previously reported BOI submitted by U.S. persons from its database; foreign reporting companies remain subject to BOI obligations for their foreign beneficial owners.

Key changes:

• U.S. small businesses and U.S. persons are now permanently exempt from BOI reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act and no longer need to file BOI reports.
• FinCEN will proactively delete previously submitted BOI belonging to U.S. persons who are now exempt.
• U.S. persons who already hold a FinCEN ID aren't required to update or correct previously submitted information.
• Foreign reporting companies, meaning entities formed under foreign law and registered to do business in a U.S. state or tribal jurisdiction, must continue reporting BOI for their foreign individual beneficial owners.
• The rule makes permanent the exemptions introduced through the March 2025 interim final rule. 

What this means for merchant onboarding teams: 

Merchant onboarding teams may need to place greater emphasis on directly collecting and independently verifying beneficial ownership information for U.S.-formed small businesses, rather than relying on federal BOI reporting as part of the process.

KYB workflows should also clearly distinguish between domestic and foreign entity structures so the appropriate ownership checks are applied. This makes flexible data collection, verification, and audit-ready documentation more important than ever when assessing different merchant types.

Recommended actions:

• Update KYB workflows and data collection forms to reflect that U.S. companies and U.S. persons are exempt from BOI reporting. Maintain appropriate beneficial ownership collection for foreign reporting companies, which remain in scope.
• Review internal policies that reference the previous domestic BOI reporting requirement and update them to reflect the final rule. 
• Confirm that any previously collected FinCEN identifiers for U.S. persons are handled correctly given FinCEN's planned deletion of that data.
• Build independent, direct-source beneficial ownership verification into onboarding for U.S. entities to fill the gap left by reduced federal registry coverage.

How OnBoard helps: 

OnBoard supports merchant onboarding teams as beneficial ownership reporting requirements evolve, helping KYB workflows adapt to different entity types and ownership requirements .

• Smart Forms dynamically adapt data collection based on entity type, helping teams collect the appropriate ownership information for different merchant structures. 
• Automated KYB and beneficial ownership verification collects, verifies, and validates beneficial ownership information directly at onboarding, reducing reliance on any single government registry.
• OnBoard AIQ™ extracts and validates ownership information from supporting documents in real time, helping identify inconsistencies that may require further review. 
• Customizable risk workflows adapt beneficial ownership collection and verification rules as AML/CFT and reporting requirements change, without rebuilding onboarding from scratch.
• Ongoing Customer Due Diligence (OCDD) continuously monitors merchant ownership structures after onboarding, helping teams catch changes that a static registry snapshot would miss.

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury 

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Proposed Rulemaking: Issuance, Offering, and Sale of Payment Stablecoins in the U.S.

Release date: NPRM issued 17 August 2026 

Issued by: U.S. Department of the Treasury 

Applies to: Payment stablecoin issuers and digital asset service providers offering or selling payment stablecoins to persons in the United States. 

Summary:

• What: On 17 August 2026, Treasury issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking implementing Section 3 of the GENIUS Act, setting out the proposed framework for the issuance, offering, and sale of payment stablecoins in the U.S.
• Why: Treasury is moving to implement the GENIUS Act's requirements for payment stablecoin issuers and market access ahead of its statutory deadlines.
• What's Next: Beginning 18 July 2028, digital asset service providers generally may not offer or sell payment stablecoins to persons in the U.S. unless those stablecoins are issued by a licensed issuer; separately, the OCC has said it'll finalize its own GENIUS Act bank-issuer rule by November 2026.

Proposed changes:

• The NPRM sets out Treasury's proposed criteria for what counts as a licensed payment stablecoin issuer under the GENIUS Act.
• From 18 July 2028, digital asset service providers would generally be prohibited from offering or selling payment stablecoins to U.S. persons unless they are issued by a licensed issuer. 
• The proposal establishes a phased implementation period before the July 2028 market-access restriction takes effect. 

What this means for merchant onboarding teams: 

This proposal does not create any new merchant onboarding obligation, but it signals that stablecoin usage and issuer status may become more important inputs in onboarding decisions as the GENIUS Act framework develops.

PSPs onboarding merchants that accept or settle in stablecoins may need to capture which stablecoins are used and who issues them, so they can assess that exposure against the emerging licensing framework ahead of the 2028 market-access deadline.

Recommended actions:

• Identify merchants that accept or settle in payment stablecoins and capture which stablecoins and issuers they rely on.
• Review onboarding workflows to ensure stablecoin usage and issuer information can be collected where relevant.
• Prepare KYB and risk processes to incorporate issuer licensing status as the GENIUS Act framework develops.
• Review stablecoin-related merchant exposure ahead of the July 2028 market-access deadline.
• Ensure relevant merchant information can be reassessed if an issuer’s licensing status changes after onboarding.

How OnBoard helps: 

OnBoard helps merchant onboarding teams get ahead of the GENIUS Act's phased stablecoin licensing requirements.

• Smart Forms capture structured information about the stablecoins a merchant accepts or settles in, including the relevant issuer, helping teams build stablecoin exposure into the onboarding process. 
• Automated KYB and business verification helps onboarding teams verify a stablecoin issuer's licensing and registration status against trusted global data sources as the framework develops.
• AIQ SiteScanner™ analyzes merchant websites for stablecoin-related activity that may not align with a merchant's declared business model, supporting stronger risk assessment.
• Customizable risk workflows automatically trigger enhanced due diligence for merchants exposed to unlicensed or emerging stablecoin issuers.
• Ongoing Customer Due Diligence (OCDD) monitors onboarded merchants for changes in stablecoin issuer licensing status as the GENIUS Act framework is finalized.

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury 

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🇦🇺 Australia

Compliance Notices: AUSTRAC Tranche 2 Enrolment 

Effective date: 28 August 2026 

Issued by: AUSTRAC

Applies to: Newly regulated Tranche 2 businesses (real estate, legal, accounting, precious metals and stones), and merchant onboarding/compliance teams assessing Australian merchant AML/CTF compliance status.

Summary:

• What: AUSTRAC began issuing compliance notices to businesses that appear to be providing designated services but haven't enrolled under Australia's AML/CTF laws, its first concrete enforcement step since the Tranche 2 regime expansion took effect on 1 July.
• Why: Businesses that fail to meet their AML/CTF obligations can expose themselves, their customers, and the wider community to criminal exploitation. 
• What's Next: AUSTRAC has signalled that non-enrolled entity identification is a top enforcement priority for FY2026-27, and can cross-reference state and industry membership lists against its own enrolment register to identify non-compliant businesses.

Key findings:

• AUSTRAC has started issuing section 167 notices to businesses that appear to be providing designated services without being enrolled.
• The notices require businesses to provide information so AUSTRAC can assess whether they are operating under the AML/CTF Act and meeting their obligations.
• AUSTRAC reinforces that enrolment is a legal requirement for businesses providing designated services. 
• AUSTRAC said businesses that do not engage with their obligations should expect regulatory scrutiny. 

What this means for merchant onboarding teams: 

While the notices are aimed at newly regulated Tranche 2 businesses, AUSTRAC’s message is broader: regulated businesses are expected to have appropriate AML/CTF controls in place and actively meet their obligations, not simply satisfy an enrolment requirement.

For merchant onboarding teams, this reinforces the importance of assessing a merchant’s regulatory standing, existing AML/CTF controls, and ongoing compliance readiness across both newly regulated and established sectors.

Recommended actions:

• Assess whether regulated merchants have appropriate AML/CTF controls and compliance processes in place, rather than relying on enrolment status alone.
• For newly regulated Tranche 2 sectors, confirm both AUSTRAC enrolment and readiness to meet ongoing AML/CTF obligations.
• Escalate merchants where AML/CTF controls, regulatory standing, or compliance readiness cannot be clearly established.
• Review existing higher-risk merchant relationships to ensure AML/CTF controls remain appropriate and up to date.
• Maintain clear records of the AML/CTF information reviewed and the rationale behind onboarding and risk decisions.

How OnBoard helps: 

OnBoard helps payment providers assess whether merchants have the information, controls, and risk profile needed to support stronger AML/CTF compliance during and after onboarding. 

• Smart Forms capture structured information about a merchant’s business activities, regulatory status, and AML/CTF processes, helping teams identify where additional due diligence may be required.
• OnBoard AIQ™ extracts and validates information from supporting documents, helping teams assess whether the evidence provided aligns with the merchant’s declared compliance position.
• ‍Automated KYB, KYC, and AML checks verify business information and screen merchants against relevant AML requirements, helping teams confirm AUSTRAC enrolment status at onboarding.‍
• Customizable risk workflows automatically flag merchants without confirmed AUSTRAC enrolment for further review.‍
• Ongoing Customer Due Diligence (OCDD) monitors changes in merchant regulatory standing after onboarding, helping teams identify when further due diligence may be required.

Source: AUSTRAC

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🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Policy Statement: FCA UK Transaction Reporting Reforms (PS26/15)

Effective date: Rules published 3 August 2026; flexible supervisory approach begins immediately, full framework in force from 3 April 2028 

Issued by: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) 

Applies to: UK-authorized firms subject to UK MiFIR transaction reporting obligations, and merchant onboarding/compliance teams supporting payments and markets-adjacent clients in the UK.

Summary:

• What: The FCA finalized major reforms to the UK transaction reporting regime (Policy Statement PS26/15), cutting the number of reportable fields and narrowing the scope of what must be reported.
• Why: The reforms aim to simplify reporting requirements by removing duplicative and low-value data, while retaining core market oversight data.
• What's Next: The new transaction reporting framework will take effect on 3 April 2028, giving firms time to prepare, test, and update their reporting systems, while the FCA will allow certain changes to be adopted earlier under a flexible supervisory approach. 

Key changes:

• Transaction reporting fields will be reduced from 65 to 52, cutting the amount of data firms need to submit.
• The FCA is removing duplicative and lower-value reporting requirements while retaining the data needed for market oversight.
• The period for correcting historical reporting errors will reduce from five years to three, cutting the number of transaction reports firms need to resubmit by around one-third.

What this means for merchant onboarding teams: 

While the reforms apply to transaction reporting rather than merchant onboarding, they reinforce the importance of accurate, structured, and traceable regulatory data as reporting requirements evolve.

For onboarding teams, maintaining a clear audit trail of the information collected, checks performed, exceptions reviewed, and decisions made helps ensure merchant data remains defensible and easier to support across downstream compliance processes.

Recommended actions:

• Review whether onboarding decisions and compliance checks are supported by a clear, accessible audit trail.
• Ensure merchant data, supporting documents, verification results, and approval decisions are consistently recorded.
• Reduce manual or disconnected processes that make it difficult to trace how an onboarding decision was reached.
• Maintain structured onboarding data that can support downstream regulatory and compliance reporting requirements.
• Monitor the FCA’s October 2026 consultation for further detail on the new reporting framework and data requirements.

How OnBoard helps: 

OnBoard helps payment providers adapt to evolving UK regulatory reporting expectations without disrupting existing onboarding and compliance workflows.

• Smart Forms capture structured merchant information at the start of onboarding, improving the quality and consistency of data available for downstream compliance processes.
• OnBoard AIQ™ helps teams keep pace with evolving data requirements by reading and validating onboarding documents in real time.
• Automated Decision Engine applies predefined rules to onboarding decisions, creating greater consistency and traceability around how applications are approved, declined, or escalated. 
• Customizable risk workflows document the review and escalation path for higher-risk or exception cases, helping teams demonstrate how decisions were reached. 
• Audit-ready reporting maintains a clear record of onboarding and compliance decisions, supporting defensibility as UK reporting frameworks are phased in.

Source: Financial Conduct Authority 

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🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

Sanctions Action: Operation Economic Outcast Targets Iran-Linked Financial Networks 

Effective date: 28 August 2026

Issued by: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) 

Applies to: U.S. financial institutions, U.S. persons, and foreign financial institutions or other persons exposed to designated or blocked persons and certain Iran-related sanctions activity. 

Summary:

• What: Under Operation Economic Outcast, FinCEN proposed restrictions on Banque Misr UAE’s access to U.S. correspondent banking, while OFAC sanctioned the manager of Bank Melli’s Dubai branch and Hong Kong-based Kameng Trading Limited.
• Why: Treasury says the actions target financial networks and facilitators used by Iran to access U.S. dollars, launder funds, evade sanctions, and support the regime’s activities.
• What’s Next: The Banque Misr UAE proposal will undergo a 30-day public comment period, while the Treasury has signaled continued enforcement under Operation Economic Outcast and increased secondary sanctions exposure for Iran-linked activity.

Key findings:

• FinCEN proposed restricting Banque Misr UAE’s access to U.S. correspondent banking after the Treasury identified the bank as a key financial channel for potential Iranian shadow banking networks.
• OFAC sanctioned Reza Mohammad Taeedi, manager of Bank Melli’s Dubai branch, and Kameng Trading Limited for their roles in Iran-linked financial activity.
• U.S. sanctions can also extend to entities 50% or more owned by blocked persons, while foreign financial institutions and other non-U.S. persons may face sanctions exposure for certain transactions involving designated or blocked parties.

What this means for merchant onboarding teams: 

For payment providers, these actions reinforce that sanctions risk can sit beyond the merchant itself, including within its ownership, banking relationships, and other connected parties. 

Merchant onboarding teams therefore need enough visibility into these relationships to identify potential exposure to sanctioned or higher-risk entities and escalate cases for further review before approval. 

Recommended actions:

• Screen merchants, beneficial owners, directors, and relevant related parties against current sanctions lists.
• Capture ownership and relevant banking relationships during onboarding where they form part of the sanctions risk assessment.
• Escalate merchants with exposure to designated persons, blocked entities, Banque Misr UAE, or other identified Iran-linked financial facilitators.
• Review ownership structures carefully where blocked persons may hold a direct or indirect interest.
• Continue monitoring higher-risk merchants for new sanctions exposure after onboarding.

How OnBoard helps: 

OnBoard helps payment providers identify sanctions exposure across the merchant, its ownership structure, and related parties before an onboarding decision is made. 

• Smart Forms capture structured ownership, jurisdiction, and relevant banking information needed for sanctions risk assessment. 
• PEP and Sanctions Screening screens merchants and related entities against sanctions lists in real time, helping identify exposure to newly designated individuals and institutions.
• Automated KYB and business verification helps onboarding teams verify the individuals and entities behind a merchant, supporting stronger assessment of ownership-related sanctions exposure. 
• Customizable risk workflows automatically trigger enhanced due diligence for merchants with exposure to flagged institutions or correspondent banking risk.
• Ongoing Customer Due Diligence (OCDD) continuously monitors onboarded merchants for emerging sanctions or correspondent banking risk after approval.

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury 

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🇭🇰 Hong Kong

Guidance: HKMA Risk-Based AML/CFT Controls for Politically Exposed Persons

Effective date: 28 August 2026

Issued by: Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Applies to: Authorized Institutions and Stored Value Facility licensees in Hong Kong.

Summary

• What: The HKMA issued version 2.0 of its Smart Tips on the Treatment of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), adding further good practices for PEP-related AML/CFT controls.
• Why: HKMA monitoring found that institutions have been proactively improving their PEP controls, but there remains room for improvement around proportionality and fair treatment of PEPs.
• What’s Next: AIs and SVF licensees are expected to consider the updated good practices, with the HKMA planning thematic examinations later in 2026 to assess implementation.

Key Tips: 

• Customer Due Diligence (CDD) should remain the primary source for PEP identification, with customer declarations corroborated using other CDD information rather than relied on alone.
• A corporate customer’s risk assessment should consider PEP exposure and the level of influence the PEP has over the business.
• Non-Hong Kong PEPs require PEP-specific EDD, while Hong Kong and international organization PEPs require it only where the relationship is assessed as high ML/TF risk.
• PEP-specific EDD includes establishing source of wealth and source of funds, senior management approval, and enhanced ongoing monitoring, including annual CDD reviews.

What This Means for Merchant Onboarding Teams

PEP exposure can materially change how a merchant application is assessed, particularly where a PEP has significant influence over the business or the overall relationship presents higher ML/TF risk.

For onboarding teams, the outcome is a greater need for risk-based decisioning that can distinguish lower-risk PEP relationships from cases requiring deeper review, approval, and ongoing oversight, without applying the same treatment to every PEP-linked merchant.

Recommended Actions

• Ensure CDD captures sufficient information to identify whether a customer or beneficial owner is a PEP.
• Corroborate PEP declarations with other CDD information and reliable sources.
• Assess the level of influence a PEP has over a corporate customer when determining merchant risk.
• Apply the appropriate PEP-specific EDD, including source of wealth and funds checks and senior management approval, where required.
• Maintain ongoing monitoring for changes in PEP status, customer profile, or account activity.

How OnBoard Helps

OnBoard helps payment providers identify PEP exposure, apply proportionate due diligence, and route higher-risk merchant applications through the appropriate review process.

• PEP and Sanctions Screening helps identify PEP exposure across merchants, beneficial owners, and relevant related parties during onboarding.
• Automated KYB and beneficial ownership verification helps establish who owns and controls the business so PEP exposure can be assessed within the wider merchant risk profile.
• Customizable risk workflows apply the appropriate EDD, escalation, and approval requirements based on PEP status and the merchant’s overall risk.
• OnBoard AIQ™ extracts and validates information from supporting documents, helping teams assess evidence used for enhanced due diligence and source-of-wealth reviews.
• Ongoing Customer Due Diligence (OCDD) supports continued monitoring for changes in PEP status and other merchant risk information after onboarding.

Source: HKMA Guidance & Treatment of Politically Exposed Persons Tips

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Cross-market signals for onboarding and compliance teams

August 2026 shows merchant onboarding becoming increasingly dependent on better risk visibility, stronger AML and sanctions controls, and more defensible decision-making. Across the month’s updates, regulators placed greater emphasis on understanding who sits behind a business, how merchants and partners are connected, and whether existing controls remain appropriate as regulatory expectations change.

Several common themes emerged this month:

• Sanctions risk is extending beyond direct list matches, increasing the importance of understanding merchant ownership, related parties, business activity, and relevant financial relationships.
• Beneficial ownership remains a critical KYB input, even as U.S. federal BOI reporting requirements change and onboarding teams rely more heavily on direct collection and verification.
• Stablecoin regulation is becoming more structured, making merchant payment methods and issuer information increasingly relevant to onboarding and risk assessment.
• AML/CTF controls are under greater scrutiny, reinforcing the need to assess regulatory standing, existing controls, and risk rather than relying on registration or basic verification alone.
• Consistent decisioning, audit trails, and ongoing monitoring are becoming more important as firms manage different risk levels, jurisdictions, partners, and regulatory requirements.

This month’s developments reinforce that merchant onboarding is not simply about completing individual KYB, KYC, AML, or sanctions checks. Payment providers need to bring ownership, regulatory status, business activity, sanctions exposure, payment methods, and risk together so they can identify higher-risk relationships early and apply the appropriate level of due diligence.

OnBoard by MVSI supports this approach by bringing structured data collection, KYB and KYC verification, AML and sanctions screening, risk-based decisioning, audit-ready reporting, and Ongoing Customer Due Diligence (OCDD) into one centrally governed onboarding process. This helps payment providers make more consistent onboarding decisions while maintaining visibility as merchant risk and regulatory expectations change.

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This content is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice.