Payment gateway and card processing for Web3 and token projects with a UK limited company

Our process begins by reviewing your checkout flow, target markets, and desired payment methods. For a UK Web3 company, this often involves accepting card payments for non-token utility or service access, alongside integrating specific alternative payment methods (APMs) relevant to your user base. The key is to match your project with a gateway and underlying acquirers that have a stated appetite for the Web3 sector.

We define the technical integration scope, ensuring it aligns with the capabilities of the UK entity and the chosen payment providers. This includes specifying the use of 3-D Secure to mitigate fraud, which is a critical point for underwriters. For token projects, we plan payment routing and cascading logic. This ensures that if one acquiring path declines a transaction, it can be seamlessly retried through another, protecting your revenue and authorisation rates.

Finally, we assemble the complete onboarding file, including the token's legal opinion and treasury details, and submit it to the selected gateway and acquirers. We then coordinate the technical go-live, ensuring a smooth integration between your platform and the payment infrastructure.

Underwriters and compliance teams at payment providers focus on several key areas when assessing a UK-based Web3 project. First, they scrutinise the legal opinion on token classification. A clear opinion from qualified counsel stating the token is not a security is a prerequisite. They will decline any project that appears to be an unregistered securities offering.

Next, they analyse the project's revenue model and marketing. They need to understand exactly what is being sold and how it is presented to the public. Claims made on your website, social media and other marketing channels must be realistic and compliant. The transaction descriptor, the text that appears on a customer's card statement, must clearly identify the project to avoid chargebacks from confused buyers.

Compliance teams will also verify the identities of the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) and directors. Anonymous teams are a major red flag and will lead to an immediate decline. For UK companies, they will check Companies House records to ensure all filings are current. Finally, they assess your fraud controls, particularly the implementation of 3-D Secure, to ensure the business is protected from fraudulent transactions.

Using a UK limited company provides a solid, reputable foundation for a Web3 project, but it comes with specific compliance considerations. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires firms involved in certain cryptoasset activities to register, and providers will expect you to be compliant with this regime. While incorporation is fast, banks and payment firms look closely at management and control. If the directors and UBOs are not resident in the UK, providers will require additional justification for the UK entity and may be more conservative.

The UK's robust EMI market provides good options for accounts to hold and move GBP, EUR and USD, but high street banks are often unwilling to bank non-resident-owned companies in high-risk sectors like Web3. This makes a well-prepared application to the right provider critical. All UK companies must maintain a registered office and public register of Persons with Significant Control (PSCs) at Companies House. Payment partners will verify this information and expect annual accounts to be filed on time. The transparency of the UK corporate structure is a benefit, but only if the company's governance is professionally managed.

The most common reason for a UK Web3 project's gateway application to be declined is ambiguity around the token's legal status. If an underwriter cannot definitively rule out the project being an unregistered security, they will not proceed. We prevent this by ensuring a comprehensive legal opinion is front and centre in the application file.

Another frequent issue is a lack of transparency regarding the project's treasury and funding. Providers need to see a clear, documented history of the source of funds in treasury wallets, particularly proceeds from any private or public token sales. An unwillingness or inability to provide wallet addresses and explain large inflows will be interpreted as a significant risk. We work with you to present this information clearly and professionally.

Applications also fail due to opaque ownership. Anonymous founders or a convoluted corporate structure designed to obscure control will be rejected. For UK companies, any discrepancies between the application and the public record at Companies House are damaging. We ensure the file is consistent and presents the UBOs and directors transparently. We decline to work with any project that has anonymous controllers or seeks to circumvent lawful registration requirements.

For a UK-based Web3 project, a payment gateway can typically be put in place within one to four weeks, but this timeline is dependent on having the underlying acquiring account(s) approved first. The gateway integration itself is often the fastest part of the process. Onboarding begins with the submission of our detailed file to the provider.

After the provider's compliance team has approved the application, the technical integration phase starts. You will receive a test environment to configure the API and test the checkout flow. Our team helps coordinate this phase to ensure your integration meets the provider's requirements for security and data handling. Once testing is complete and the acquiring relationships are live, the gateway can be switched to production mode to process real transactions.

Staying live requires ongoing compliance. This means keeping your corporate records at Companies House up to date, adhering to the gateway's terms of service, and maintaining effective fraud controls. Any material changes to your business model or tokenomics should be communicated to your payment providers proactively to avoid any interruption in service. Regular dialogue with the provider's risk team is key to a long-term, stable relationship.