ETA Releases Updated Underwriting, Risk Monitoring Guidelines

ETA released this week the fourth edition to the ETA Guidelines on Merchant and ISO Underwriting and Risk Monitoring. The guidelines, launched in 2014, were developed to provide guidance for payments technology companies, including ISOs, payment processors and merchant acquirers, in maintaining strong and modern risk management program. They are provided to ETA members at no cost.

The new Guidelines reflect recent industry rule changes and trends around risk monitoring that assist in mitigating merchant risk. Updates include changes to language regarding the FinCEN Beneficial Ownership CDD program, added text addressing ecommerce, COVID-19, merchant registration, privacy, and best practices for identifying certain additional red flags when evaluating merchants.

The ETA Underwriting Guidelines are grounded in the operating regulations of the various payment networks, existing governmental regulations, and industry best practices for risk management. They are developed by ETA in conjunction with the ETA Risk, Fraud and Security Committee, which is made up of legal, policy and industry experts.

For members interested in learning more about the fourth edition of the document, ETA will host a webinar on September 15, 2020 with the legal, policy and industry experts to outline the notable changes to the ETA Underwriting Guidelines. Click here to register.

ETA members, click here to download the guidelines for free.