For application requirements, we (Braintree) work with Visa, MasterCard and the sponsoring banks to make sure that all our merchants are in compliance. There ar

For application requirements, we (Braintree) work with Visa, MasterCard and the sponsoring banks to make sure that all our merchants are in compliance. There are other payment providers that will turn a blind eye to these requirements in addition to postponing proper due diligence and underwriting until it's a problem for a merchant. We regularly have merchants approach us that are in some sort of bind (e.g. violation of card association rules, account was frozen / shut down) because their previous payments provider didn't do things correctly. The payments industry is very complex with a lot of layers and nuances. We try our best to do things right even if it means more upfront effort. An example: "With increased revenue, the merchant bank became concerned with the increase in liability. So, the bank closed the merchant account." And because they couldn't get their credit card data back, they had to ask all their customers to enter their payment information again. http://blog.recurly.com/2010/05/credit-card-portability/ http://blog.recurly.com/2010/05/credit-card-portability/ Additional Info: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/running_small_business/archives/2009/08/paypals_reserve.html http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/running_small_business/... http://whiteelephantmedia.com/ http://whiteelephantmedia.com/ http://www.braintreepaymentsolutions.com/blog/paypal-reserves-surprise http://www.braintreepaymentsolutions.com/blog/paypal-reserve...