A living language for risk operations

A processor or platform's policy defining permitted and prohibited uses of its service. PayPal's AUP is a common reference point in the creator economy.

The bank that holds a merchant's account and processes card transactions. It absorbs card network fines and passes them to the merchant or platform.

Mastercard's program for monitoring merchants and acquirers for prohibited or high-risk activity, with escalating penalties for violations.

The proportion of a merchant's transactions that result in chargebacks. Exceeding card network thresholds triggers monitoring programs and fines.

The escalating sequence of processor consequences — from warning to fine, reserve increase, termination, and MATCH listing — that follows an unaddressed violation.

A structured map of on-platform and off-platform signals about a creator, used to reach and defend a payout risk decision with a full audit trail.

The network of inbound and outbound links connected to a creator's presence, used to surface off-platform risk signals a content scan cannot see.

Mastercard's shared blacklist of terminated merchants. A listing makes it extremely difficult to obtain a new merchant account for around five years.

A four-digit code classifying a merchant's business type. An inaccurate code can misrepresent risk and create compliance exposure for acquirers.

The legal entity responsible for a transaction with the payment processor. When a platform is the MoR, it carries direct liability for what its creators sell.

An entity that lets sub-merchants process payments under its own master account, taking on responsibility for onboarding and monitoring them.

Vetting which creators a platform is safe to pay, mapped against payment processor prohibited-business policies, before money moves.

A payment processor's published list of business categories it will not process payments for, such as piracy, counterfeit goods, or unlicensed regulated products.

A portion of a merchant's funds a processor holds back as protection against future chargebacks or losses, reducing available cash flow.

The section of Stripe's terms that lists business categories Stripe restricts or prohibits, including piracy, counterfeit goods, and regulated products.

Using a legitimate merchant account to process payments for undisclosed third parties or prohibited goods, hiding the true nature of the transactions.

Visa's program for monitoring acquirers and their merchants for excessive fraud and disputes, with fines when defined thresholds are exceeded.