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Turned Away by Big Banks, Risky Payment Processors Look to Smaller Institutions
By Brian Monroe
printFinding themselves locked out of some large U.S. banks because of compliance concerns, third-party payment processors are increasingly turning to small- and mid-sized institutions for financial services, say consultants. The shift is prompted in part by a "tightening in the banking community in terms of payment processor accounts" over the past year, according to David Montague, a principal at the Sarasota, FL-based consultancy The Fraud Practice. In cases when the banks retain the clients, they are requiring the processors to maintain "nearly full-blown AML programs," he said. Since late 2009, dozens of large U.S. banks-including Wells Fargo, Bank of America...
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