A payment facilitator is a company that enables businesses—especially software platforms and marketplaces—to accept electronic payments without each merchant needing their own direct account. The facilitator sets up a master merchant account and creates sub-accounts for individual merchants, centralizing underwriting, compliance, fraud monitoring, and payouts, so platforms can focus on their core product. 

With payment facilitation-as-a-service (PFaaS), the underlying infrastructure, compliance, and risk management are handled for you—you simply choose which payment functions to own, like sales or merchant billing. Registered payment facilitation means owning the entire lifecycle: underwriting, compliance, risk, and merchant support. PFaaS is ideal if you want meaningful control with significantly less regulatory burden.

Becoming a registered payment facilitator requires developing facilitation software, maintaining compliance with PCI DSS, AML regulations, and KYC requirements, carefully overseeing risk management, and formally registering with card brands. It's a significant commitment of time and resources—but the right technology partner can help you go live in weeks, not months.

Absolutely. The partnership model is designed to grow with your business—starting with referral or PFaaS and scaling to full registered payment facilitation as your volume and goals evolve. Because the underlying platform and API remain consistent, there's no need for infrastructure overhaul when you're ready to take on more of the payment experience.

Merchant risk monitoring is handled through dedicated risk management tools that track transaction activity daily, flagging anomalies like unusual batch amounts or chargeback spikes.   Disputes and chargebacks are managed through an integrated dispute platform, with merchants able to submit supporting documentation and track outcomes.  
 AI-powered fraud detection tools also provide near real-time monitoring across ACH, cards, and digital wallets to catch issues before they become losses.