What is fintech compliance and why it matters for virtual card partners

2025-08-05 11:23 Markets, Compliance & Security

Launching a virtual card product in 2025 means dealing not only with technology, but also with regulation. If you’re building a fintech solution, crypto service, marketplace or SaaS product, and you want to issue branded Visa cards through WantToPay API, you’re entering a regulated field — even if you don’t have a license.

This article explains, in plain language, what compliance is in fintech, why it matters, and how it affects you as a B2B partner. No legal background needed.

What is Compliance?

Compliance is a system of checks and controls that ensures your business follows laws, international standards, and policies of card schemes and financial institutions. In the context of fintech, compliance includes procedures like:

KYB (Know Your Business)
KYC (Know Your Customer)
AML (Anti-Money Laundering)
Sanctions Screening
PEP Checks (Politically Exposed Persons)
Transaction Monitoring
Verification of business model and card usage (Use Case)

These are not just formalities. Compliance is a legal obligation — and a risk management framework.

Why Compliance Is Not Just WantToPay’s Job

When you launch a white-label card product via WantToPay API, you’re not acting as a passive user. You become an official partner, a part of the infrastructure, and take on shared responsibility for how your product is used.

Our role as the platform provider is to ensure the legal and technical foundation for card issuance. Your role as a partner is to ensure that the cards are used as intended — and not in prohibited or high-risk activities.

That’s why:

We conduct a full KYB check before onboarding.
We request a description of your use case and user flow.
We require that your clients use the cards in permitted categories only.
We may ask for transaction details or block usage if there are signs of abuse.

This protects both parties: you, us, and the card issuer.

What Checks Are Included in Compliance?

Here’s a table that outlines what we and our partners review as part of the compliance process:

Check Type	Description
KYB	Know Your Business – legal entity, beneficiaries, incorporation details
KYC	Verification of end-users (if needed) – ID, age, country
AML	Prevention of money laundering, analysis of flow of funds
Sanctions	Checking company and users against global sanctions lists
PEP	Screening for politically exposed persons (extra scrutiny)
Use Case Review	Assessment of how and where the cards will be used
Transaction Monitoring	Real-time or post-factum analysis of suspicious activity

Some of these are handled by WantToPay or the issuer. But some — like correct communication of card terms, education of your users, and filtering of prohibited use cases — are your responsibility as a partner.

Common Objections — and Why They Miss the Point

“We only work with crypto — do we still need this?”

Yes. Card networks and issuers are particularly strict when it comes to crypto-related services. Compliance is even more important in these cases to avoid regulatory issues.

“But we’re a small startup, not a bank.”

You don’t need to be a bank. But you are providing a financial service, and any misuse (intentional or not) may lead to serious consequences.

“This is too complicated.”

It’s not as complex as it sounds. We guide you through the steps, and once the compliance framework is in place, it becomes a routine process.

Compliance is not bureaucracy. It’s business protection.

What Happens if You Ignore Compliance?

Let’s be direct: violating compliance rules can lead to card program suspension — not just for you, but for the entire BIN.

We’ve seen cases where a partner allowed users to:

abuse merchant categories (e.g. adult content, MSB services);
cycle funds suspiciously (circular transactions);
resell cards to unverified users without understanding the risks.

The result? The issuer shut down the entire program. Hundreds of clients lost access. Everyone was impacted — because a single partner didn’t follow the rules.

On the flip side, our strongest partners:

follow use case requirements,
communicate clearly with their users,
avoid gray-zone traffic,
and build long-term stable products on top of our infrastructure.

Compliance is Your Competitive Advantage

In 2025, regulatory clarity is not a burden — it’s a moat. If you can demonstrate that your business is structured, legal, and compliant, you earn trust:

from the issuer
from your users
from your investors
and from us

We work best with partners who treat compliance not as a checkbox, but as part of their product strategy.

Ready to Build Your Own Card Product?

If you’re ready to launch virtual Visa cards under your brand — and you’re willing to operate responsibly — we’ll support you with the tech, legal setup, and onboarding guidance.

Ask your questions, get your use case reviewed, and receive a partner offer at @WantToPayPartnerBot.

We’ll guide you through a clean, legal, and future-proof card product launch.

Tags:

#fintechcompliance #AML #Sanctions #whitelabelcards #virtualcards #cardissuance #financialsecurity #APIintegration #KYC #KYB #cardproduct #WantToPay #cardprovider #cardissuanceAPI #complianceinfintech #b2bapi