In the Merchant of Record (MoR) model, Riker stands as the legal merchant on every transaction. We hold the merchant account with acquiring banks, process payments on your behalf, and assume liability for chargebacks, tax compliance, and regulatory obligations across geographies.

What it removes.

Merchant account setup with banks in each geography

KYC, AML, and underwriting on your end

Sales tax / VAT / GST collection and remittance

PCI compliance scope for cardholder data

What it costs you.

Less control over the merchant relationship and slightly higher per-transaction costs in exchange for the operational overhead Riker absorbs.

Best fit.

Companies launching new products, expanding to new geographies, or operating in regulated verticals where merchant onboarding is a multi-month bottleneck. Most early-stage and scaling companies start here.

03 / Payment Facilitator

Payment Facilitator (PayFac).

You become the payment facilitator for your own sub-merchants. Riker provides the infrastructure to do it at scale.

What it is.

In the PayFac model, you operate as a master merchant with your own sub-merchants onboarded underneath. Riker provides the orchestration, tokenization, settlement, and sub-merchant management infrastructure. You handle the merchant relationship, branding, and customer experience — we handle the rails.

What it enables.

Onboard sub-merchants under your own brand

Set your own pricing and revenue share

Own the end-to-end merchant experience

Aggregate volume across sub-merchants for better economics

What it requires.

PayFac status with acquiring partners, KYC and underwriting infrastructure on your side (Riker provides tooling but you own the policy), and regulatory compliance for sub-merchant operations in each geography.

Best fit.

Marketplaces, SaaS platforms, and software providers whose customers are themselves merchants. Common in vertical SaaS (restaurant tech, salon tech, fitness studios) where payments are core to the product offering.

04 / Independent Sales Organization

Independent Sales Organization (ISO).

You hold direct merchant relationships. Riker provides the gateway and orchestration infrastructure.

What it is.

In the ISO model, you maintain direct merchant relationships with each business you serve. You handle merchant acquisition, underwriting, and ongoing account management. Riker sits underneath as the gateway and orchestration layer, processing transactions across your merchant base through your chosen acquiring partners.

What it preserves.

Full ownership of the merchant relationship

Direct negotiation with acquiring banks on pricing

Independence from a payment facilitator structure

Flexibility to swap processors without changing infrastructure

What it requires.

Established merchant relationships, ISO registration with card networks, contractual relationships with acquiring banks, and internal capacity for merchant support and risk management.

Best fit.

Established payment companies, vertical-specific ISOs, and businesses with existing merchant portfolios looking to modernize their infrastructure without restructuring their commercial model.

05 / Decision matrix