Everything You Need
to Know About MeridAx

MeridAx is a specialist payment intermediary — not a direct processor. We sit between you and our global network of acquiring banks and processors, matching you to the right banking partner, negotiating the best rates on your behalf, and managing the entire relationship. Unlike a processor, you get choice, leverage, and expertise rather than being locked into one institution's terms.

We work with merchants of all risk profiles — low, medium, and high-risk — across every major vertical. This includes online gaming, crypto, nutraceuticals, forex, travel, adult content, firearms, financial services, SaaS, e-commerce, and more. We also serve fintechs, neobanks, and financial institutions that want to launch or scale card programmes.

We have active banking relationships covering Africa (including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa), Asia Pacific (Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, South Korea), Eastern and Western Europe, the UK, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and Caribbean/offshore jurisdictions. Our network spans 180+ countries.

Our primary revenue is a basis point spread — a small differential between the rate we negotiate with our banking partner and the rate we pass to you. This is fully disclosed upfront. We may also charge a one-time onboarding fee, and retainer fees for managed service engagements. There are no hidden fees. Every cost is agreed in writing before we begin.

High-risk acquiring refers to payment processing for business verticals that traditional banks consider higher risk due to chargeback rates, regulatory complexity, or reputational factors. Gaming, crypto, nutraceuticals, travel, forex, and adult content are common examples. MeridAx specialises in high-risk acquiring and has built the network to serve these verticals. If your business is legal and licensed where required, you very likely qualify.

Most merchants are reviewed, matched to a banking partner, and live within 72 hours of submitting a complete application. Complex cases may take slightly longer, but we work hard to move as fast as the banks allow. Card programme setups for issuers take 4–8 weeks.

Rates depend on your vertical, volume, processing history, and geography. Because MeridAx aggregates volume across hundreds of merchants, we have real pricing leverage with our banking partners — we consistently negotiate MDR rates significantly lower than merchants achieve when approaching banks directly. We provide indicative rates as part of your proposal, and all rates are agreed in writing before you go live.

Yes — this is one of our most common situations. Previous declines do not automatically disqualify you with MeridAx. We have helped many merchants who were rejected by mainstream acquirers to find appropriate banking partners within our specialist network. What matters is that your business is legal, properly licensed, and that you are transparent with us about your history.

Chargeback management is a core part of what MeridAx provides. We connect merchants to pre-dispute alert services to prevent chargebacks before they are filed, provide professional representment for legitimate disputes, and actively monitor your ratio. If it rises, we advise on corrective measures and, if needed, help you migrate to a more chargeback-tolerant bank in our network.

Most card programmes are live within 4–8 weeks from the start of the onboarding process. This covers BIN sponsor matching, issuer processor connection, scheme registration, technical integration, and card production coordination. This compares to 12–18 months when building these relationships directly.

We support credit, debit, prepaid, virtual, corporate, and co-badge card programmes across Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, and a range of local schemes. Each client is matched to the processor and scheme configuration that best fits their product type, geography, and regulatory environment.

No — not to start. Through our BIN sponsor relationships, we can have you issuing cards without direct scheme membership. This dramatically reduces the upfront regulatory and capital burden of launching a card programme. We can also help you progress towards direct membership if that becomes appropriate for your scale.

Through our processor network connections, MeridAx clients access: authorisation switching (sub-100ms), EMV 3DS 2.1 and 2.2 ACS for cardholder authentication, network tokenisation for Apple Pay and Google Pay, PIN management services, automated clearing and settlement, dispute and chargeback management connected to VROL and Mastercard's dispute platforms, and AI-powered fraud detection — all through a single MeridAx relationship.

All clients undergo thorough KYC and AML due diligence before onboarding. This includes business verification, beneficial ownership identification, PEP screening, and sanctions screening against OFAC, EU, UN, and UK lists. We apply a risk-based approach — higher-risk businesses receive enhanced due diligence. Ongoing monitoring continues throughout the relationship. Full details are in our AML & KYC Policy.

MeridAx connects merchants to PCI DSS Level 1 compliant processors and infrastructure providers. We also guide merchants through the correct SAQ pathway for their integration type to ensure they meet Visa and Mastercard data security requirements.

All personal and business data shared with MeridAx is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which complies with GDPR and applicable data protection laws. Data is transmitted and stored using encryption, access controls are strictly maintained, and we never sell your data to third parties.