Underwriting: merchants & cases

The Underwriting module is merchant verification and risk scoring: at onboarding and during periodic reviews of the live portfolio.

Merchants

Underwriting → Merchants — the register of legal entities: registration details (tax ID, registration number, MCC, country, incorporation date), contacts, directors and beneficiaries (with a PEP flag), addresses and linked websites.

Cases

A case is one review of one merchant. Types: Onboarding (a new merchant) and Monitoring (re-run) (review of an existing one). Lifecycle: Open → In progress → Approved / Declined; existing merchants can also be Terminated.

The case page

On the case page:

• Risk score — the overall 0–100 score computed from indicator statuses (higher = riskier) with a risk level: low / medium / high.
• Risk indicators — a map of checks by group (Reputation Risk, Content Risk, Money Laundering Risk, Transaction Laundering Risk, custom bank checks). Each indicator has a status: red (critical), amber (attention), green (ok) or grey (no data / not performed). The officer can reclassify an indicator manually and leave a note.
• Automated checks — site content (via the scanner), Google Safe Browsing, OSINT search across open sources, WHOIS and domain age, SSL certificate age, traffic, an IP scan with a neighbouring-domain map, outgoing links, geo availability, mobile version, site history and more.
• MCC regulation reference — guidance for the declared MCC: category, regulatory requirements and card-scheme recommendations.

MCC directory

MCC (Merchant Category Code) — a 4-digit code for the merchant’s line of business (e.g. 7995 — gambling, 5912 — pharmacies). The acquirer assigns an MCC at boarding; card schemes apply rules, limits and risk programs based on it. A mismatch between the actual business and the declared MCC (MCC-miscoding) is a classic fraud signal (see the content check).

Directory flags: MRP (Mastercard Registration Program) and VIRP (Visa Integrity Risk Program) — mandatory registration programs for high-risk merchant categories; their presence requires enhanced verification and scheme registration.

Underwriting → MCC directory — the full code catalog (357): name, description and per-scheme notes (Mastercard / Visa / BELKART), MRP/VIRP flags, provider filters. Officers look up a code while underwriting (view-only); the super admin edits and extends the directory. On mobile — cards.

• CREM — credit risk exposure assessment: volumes, chargeback/refund ratios, probability of default, exposure scenarios and recommended measures (rolling reserve, security deposit, payment delay).
• Recommendations — a checklist auto-built from red and amber indicators; the officer ticks off what’s done.
• Test payments — manual records of control transactions (card, amount, descriptor, observed MCC, cloaking).

Case actions

• Take — assign an officer.
• Approve / Decline — the final decision with a mandatory note.
• The More menu: Terminate, Sync from scanner (re-scan the merchant’s sites and refresh content indicators), IP Scan, CREM, Generate PDF.

The PDF report

The Generate PDF action builds a full case report: merchant summary, risk score, all indicators with classification, check results, CREM and recommendations. Generated reports are stored in the Media library and are suitable for handing over to a card scheme or a regulator.