Choosing a payment service provider for a gaming business

Start with licences and risk appetite

Not every payment service provider serves the gaming industry, and those that do differ in the jurisdictions and products they accept. The first questions should be whether the provider is authorised by the competent supervisory authority to provide payment services, whether it serves operators with your licence and in your markets, and what documents it will require during onboarding. The answers save weeks of negotiation that would otherwise end in refusal at the compliance stage.

Method coverage where your players are

Compare providers' offers with the actual breakdown of your players by country. A provider with a long list of global methods may lack the key local method in your main market, or offer it through an intermediary, which lengthens settlement and raises the cost. Ask which methods are supported directly and which through partners, and whether they are also available for withdrawals.

Treat withdrawals as a separate product

For the player, the withdrawal is the moment of truth. Check whether the provider supports withdrawals via the same method as the deposit, what the typical processing time is, what amount limits apply and how rejected withdrawals are handled. A provider that is good at taking deposits but weak on withdrawals will generate costs in your customer support team.

Calculate the total cost, not just the fee

The total cost includes, among other things:

• the percentage fee and fixed per-transaction fee, often different for deposits and withdrawals,
• currency conversion fees and the exchange-rate spread,
• chargeback fees and handling costs,
• the rolling reserve and how long it takes to be released,
• settlement frequency and the cost of funds held by the provider,
• minimum, subscription and integration fees.

Only by setting these items against your own volume and transaction mix can you compare offers. It is also worth asking at what volume thresholds the terms can be renegotiated.

Approval and the tools to improve it

Ask for historical data for similar operators in your markets, but treat it with caution, as it depends on traffic mix. What matters more is whether the provider gives access to raw decline codes, allows risk rules to be configured, and supports tokenisation, card account updater and full 3-D Secure 2 data. Without these it is hard to improve results on your own later.

Integration and reporting

Ask about the quality of the API documentation, the test environment, typical integration time and the format of settlement reports. Reports that can be reconciled automatically with platform data save your finance team work every month.

Support and contingency planning

Establish who your account manager will be, how quickly technical support responds outside working hours and how the provider communicates outages. Whatever the answers, do not rely on a single provider for a key market. A second provider, even with a smaller share of traffic, protects against payments being halted and gives you leverage in negotiations.

A short checklist

1. Does the provider hold the appropriate authorisations and serve your licence and markets?
2. Does it support the key local methods directly, including for withdrawals?
3. What is the total cost on your transaction profile?
4. What data and tools does it provide for improving approval?
5. How do settlement, the reserve and reporting work?
6. What is the plan in case of an outage or a change in the provider's policy?

Fincil helps operators prepare a request for proposal, compare the responses and negotiate terms. We do not accept fees from providers without the client's knowledge. Contact us if you are planning to change or extend your provider mix.