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Ensuring healthy merchants are added to a portfolio, and taking care of them once they’re admitted, are two major priorities for acquirers. LegitScript, which provides merchant and product certification and onboarding services, helps organizations vet new merchants and has released updates for its onboarding product. Meanwhile, processor Elavon, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, added a new funding source from Liberis for merchants.
Vetting merchants is an important step to onboarding, an area LegitScript specializes in. The Portland, Ore.-based firm announced Tuesday it has added a Global Business Identity Check and U.S. Tax Identification Number Verification, both enhanced with artificial intelligence capability, to its roster of features for its Merchant Onboarding service.
LegitScript says inconsistent data and fragmented know-your-business processes typically have been challenging for payments companies, especially when expanding internationally. The new features help to address that, it says.
“As fraudsters become more sophisticated and card networks tighten their requirements, payment facilitators, ISOs, and acquirers that cannot quickly validate merchant legitimacy across borders risk incurring fines, reputational damage, and lost revenue,” Tom Cook, LegitScript chief product and technology officer, says in a statement.
The Global Business Identity Check provides verification for more than 120 countries and uses country-specific databases. It confirms a business’s registration status, name-matching accuracy, and details of its organization. The U.S. TIN component integrates the Internal Revenue Service tax ID matching directly into existing merchant onboarding workflows, which can eliminate the need for extra KYB vendors, LegitScript says.
In related news, Elavon says Liberis, an embedded-finance platform, is its partner in Quick Capital, a funding service for small businesses.
More than 275,000 U.S. merchants will be able to apply for this funding, Liberis says. Liberis says Elavon can offer a branded funding option through its merchant platform.
