The Green Sheet Online Edition
September 22, 2025 • 25:09:02
The illusion of simplicity: Why alternative payment methods rule high-risk industries
The popularity of alternative payment methods across high-risk industries came from the difference in regulatory pressure between payment channels. Certain methods require strict onboarding, monitoring and transactional controls, while others function under far looser expectations.
Card networks
Card networks such as Visa and Mastercard operate under global scrutiny, which means their acceptance standards must reflect the reputational risk they carry. These card schemes strictly reject any business model where the reputation can be at stake, which remains highly subjective, meaning that even with a fully legal setup, rejection can still happen.
This decision has little to do with the actual business activity and everything to do with the structure surrounding it.
As more merchants within high-risk sectors face increased restrictions from traditional card networks, the shift toward alternative payment methods became inevitable. E-wallets, vouchers, local transfer methods, crypto-based tools and open banking-based solutions started replacing cards, mostly because these methods eliminate the friction caused by traditional compliance procedures.
Onboarding becomes faster, documentation requirements feel lighter, and in many cases, approval comes without much interaction. For businesses trying to scale quickly or operate across multiple regions, this presents a tempting option. What remains hidden at first is the silent cost that these shortcuts introduce into the business model.
High risk
High-risk sectors include operations that already create higher exposure from a financial supervision perspective. This does not automatically point to wrongdoing, but rather highlights the opportunity within the model for abuse such as criminal activities or tax evasion.
Their risk can be multi-faceted: misuse of funds, client anonymity, poor traceability, high dispute or even missing documentation. These are the core elements that raise concerns for financial institutions, payment providers, acquirers and their banks.
Crypto
Crypto enters this already sensitive equation with an entirely different risk profile. Since this payment method is not regulated in every country equally there is a huge opportunity for regulatory arbitrage and abuse of the system. Several banks and payment institutions are also afraid to deal with an asset that is illegal in many countries.
Within the blockchain there is an opportunity where transactions move through pseudonymous wallets, without strong identity checks, which allows tax evasion or even criminal activities. While crypto offers speed, global access and attractive conversion terms, it also removes the structure and liability framework that traditional finance depends on.
Crypto as a payment method
Adding crypto to a setup that already raises flags creates far more pressure than most businesses expect. I have seen merchant operations lose reliable providers, acquirers and even long-standing bank accounts after introducing crypto without a strategic plan. Most financial institutions cannot maintain exposure when fund flow structure, customer background and transaction control fall outside their internal risk acceptance levels.
If a business is operating in a high-risk sphere, adding high-risk payment methods only increases the risk from a payment and banking perspective. More often than not payments and banking providers react to this increased level of risk with higher fees, worse terms and conditions, or even the total closure of the account.
Often they do it without escalation, during routine internal checks or risk recalculations. By the time the business reacts, the reputation within the payments industry has already shifted.
The importance of a payment and banking strategy
This outcome can be avoided with a payment and banking strategy that is built on structure, risk forecasting and operational clarity. Even though everybody knows fees are important there are multiple other areas that need to be evaluated in order to avoid disasters.
Every payment method should serve the commercial model, the product structure and the jurisdictional obligations. Random patching of methods, based on ease or market trend, creates confusion across departments, providers and compliance.
Payment and banking today impact customer experience, risk management, technology, product development, data security, compliance, finance and more. It should be considered a standalone function, an essential element of the business strategy, not just a part of finance.
Better education needed
Unfortunately, the ones who manage payment and banking tasks are not adequately trained to do so. Key areas, such as how payments and banking affect technology, UX, compliance and other essential aspects in a business are absent from accounting, economics courses and MBAs.
Even worse, most high-risk companies are still relying on so-called “introducers,” or "payment experts" to find new banks or payment providers for their risky setup. Little do they know, but these resellers always work on commission, steering clients toward the highest commission rather than finding the best option, which is a massive conflict of interest.
The sad part is that often these resellers take no responsibility for their introductions, even though under PSD2 they have to. Knowledge gap leads to errors in setup, poor planning of contracts, mismatched settlement structures and increased friction with providers. Most of these issues only surface once real damage happens: frozen balances, failed onboarding or provider exits, for example.
Payments and banking need expertise
Until education around payment and banking becomes part of core business training, CFOs, product owners, or other personnel responsible for any fund movement in a company still need to manage growth across international markets without understanding how banks "think" and what damage this can do to an organization.
This is exactly why proper expertise around payment and banking cannot be substituted with general finance knowledge or sales-led provider suggestions. A real payment expert understands the operational setup behind each provider, the regulatory pressure they face, and how to build fund flow structures that actually hold under scrutiny.
Understanding, structure, alignment required
Alternative payment methods will always exist, and in many cases, they serve real value. The risk begins when they are introduced without understanding, without structure, and without alignment with business goals and financial reality.
The most stable, profitable and scalable setups across high-risk industries all begin with proper planning, professional input and education that supports real-life execution. It doesn’t cost a lot to get it right from the beginning, but it can cost a lot not to have it when things go south. Every business with ambition, scale and responsibility needs this foundation if it wants to keep its operation safe, supported and bankable. 
Viktoria Soltesz is the CEO and founder of PSP Angels and The Soltesz Institute. She is a leading advocate for strategy-led financial operations, ethical industry practices, and structured education in an area too often overlooked in traditional business training. PSP Angels is a globally awarded, independent payment and banking consultancy that has supported over 1,000 companies in building scalable, secure financial infrastructures. The Soltesz Institute is the first and only independent online organization offering EU-accredited training and certifications focused exclusively on payments and banking. To contact Viktoria, please email viktoria@pspangels.com.
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