Insights on international payments and business accounts.
Why online dating and subscription platforms get flagged as high risk by banks, what reviewers actually worry about, and how to prepare your application.
Turned down by an automated checklist? What Polydirection's individual review actually looks at for crypto, gambling, forex and dating businesses — and what it won't promise.
A Polydirection Personal account bundles a multi-currency IBAN, SEPA/SWIFT transfers and a Mastercard together. The standalone Prepaid Mastercard strips two of those three away. Here's what that trade-off actually looks like.
15 EUR here, 10 EUR there — Polydirection's smallest admin fees look trivial one at a time. Here's what SWIFT/SEPA confirmation, reference letters and amendment requests actually cost over a year.
Active Spender costs 6 EUR a month that Regular Spender doesn't. Here's the exact math — fees and limits both — on when that upgrade stops being a cost and starts being a discount.
SWIFT transfers are priced as a percentage with a minimum fee — and that minimum quietly makes small international payments proportionally the most expensive. Here's the exact threshold where the math flips.
Opening a Business account costs up to 1,075 EUR and 50 EUR a month to maintain — a Personal account is free and costs 1 EUR. Here's exactly what drives the gap, and what doesn't move at all.
The fee schedule for a business account isn't one number — it depends on whether the account sits in the EU or outside it. A breakdown of what actually changes: account opening, monthly maintenance, minimum balance, and outbound transfers.
A breakdown of card fees on a high-risk business account: ATM withdrawals, POS charges, foreign exchange markup, and card limits — and why the Regular vs Active Spender tier changes the math.
Compliance audits, reference letters, and account confirmations are priced separately from transfer fees on a high-risk business account. Here's what they cost and when you'll need them.
High-risk merchant accounts can charge for holding a large balance, not just for moving it. Here's how the fee works, why it exists, and how to model it into cash flow.
Currency exchange fees apply even to a fully successful payment. Here's how fiat and crypto conversion fees actually work.
Declines, refunds and chargebacks are priced completely differently. Here's why a proactive refund is usually the cheaper decision.
OCT payout fees are priced separately from acquiring fees — and for gambling, forex and affiliate payouts, they add up fast.
Local payment methods in LATAM cost more than card acquiring — but the real comparison is approved revenue, not the headline rate.
Every declined card attempt carries its own fixed fee. Here's why crypto, gambling and forex see more declines, and what the fee actually covers.
The chargeback ratio thresholds that trigger escalating fees, what actually drives disputes up, and how to keep the ratio down.
How a rolling reserve actually works, why acquirers ask for it, and how to model it into cash flow planning instead of getting blindsided.
Why dating platforms get declined by standard payment processors, and what a working recurring-billing setup actually needs.
What non-resident actually means for account opening, why traditional banks make it hard, and the practical steps to get a working account.
Why crypto, gambling and forex get grouped as high-risk for card acquiring, what underwriters actually check, and how chargebacks drive pricing.
A plain-language breakdown of how SEPA and SWIFT payment rails differ, and what that means for settlement time and fees on a business account.
Traditional banks score entire industries as high-risk, not individual businesses. Here's why, and what actually works instead.
Why forex brokerage banking is different from a normal business account, and how SEPA, SWIFT and EMI status actually fit together.
Why traditional banks avoid crypto businesses, what a genuinely crypto-friendly account needs to offer, and how licensing requirements actually work.
What actually determines merchant account approval for iGaming operators, realistic timelines, fee structures, and red flags that kill applications.
