Q&A: Rank on minimising payment risks

Rank recently appointed Rory Howard as the operator’s first director of payments and customer diligence in an effort to drive compliance in payments and technology. Before being promoted to the role in April, Howard spent a year as the operator’s head of fraud and payments.

Speaking to EGR Technology, Howard said payments technology in egaming is shifting to meet the customers’ demand for real-time withdrawals and as compliance around the technology tightens, operators are looking towards more costly methods.

EGR Technology: What does the director of payments and customer diligence role involve? Why was it a necessary role for Rank to establish?

Rory Howard (RH): I’m responsible for leading the teams delivering Rank’s digital payments and customer diligence gathering services from an operational, strategic and technical perspective, whilst also protecting revenues through risk identification and fraud analysis. The role was created as part of our ongoing drive to ensure we are fully meeting all the requirements of the licensing conditions and codes of practice.

EGR Technology: How has your history in payments and your previous roles prepared you for this role?

RH: Prior to joining Rank as head of fraud and payments, I worked for Gamesys in the US within a heavily regulated NJ market. This role was extremely useful in allowing me to experience different regulatory challenges where new systems and out of the box thinking were important to improving commercial success. I hope to bring all that knowledge to my role at Rank.

EGR Technology: What kind of technology do you oversee at Rank?

RH: The technology we use allows us to collect information in real time which means we can act swiftly to identify the players most at risk, interact with them and evaluate the impact on their behaviour. In this way we are able to offer effective solutions to help protect our customers.

EGR Technology: How can operators use technology to ensure they are appropriately carrying out customer due diligence?

RH: We are using technology that allows us to automate some of our customer due diligence processes and drive interactions with customers, so we can monitor player behaviour and intervene when necessary.

EGR Technology: What’s the latest in payments movements at Rank?

RH: We are working with our chosen partners to optimize card processing in a stable UK payment landscape. Alongside cards, we also offer PayPal and other solutions to cater for our customers’ preferences. Innovation within the UK payments space is hard to come by however our partners at Safecharge allow us to continually keep abreast of market changes such as real-time withdrawals.

EGR Technology: How are tightening regulations on money laundering and customer protection impacting the evolution of payments in the gambling industry?

RH: We are starting to review the use of credit cards, banks and other payment methods to limit the risk to our customers and ensure people are not over extending themselves. Learning from the behaviours  of  the players that utilise specific payment options is key to identifying higher risk behaviour.

EGR Technology: How big is the payments team at Rank? Do they cover omni-channel payment services between the land-based and online businesses?

RH: Payments and customer due diligence activity continues to grow in line with the need to ensure players are playing responsibly and within their means.  We have a dedicated team within our customer support centre that deals with both our online and land-based businesses and sits alongside our VIP and Fraud teams, increasing our commitment to protecting the welfare of our customers.

EGR Technology: What’s the future of payments in the online gambling industry?

RH: Evolution of payments depends very much on jurisdiction. In time, my view is the UK will move away from using certain payment methods to ensure absolute responsibility. Increasing operating costs, for example higher taxes, means more costly methods of payment will be looked at more closely by all operators.

EGR Technology: In terms of the technology, are payments progressing as quickly as other areas in the industry like product?

RH: Yes, payments are progressing quickly to keep up with player demands.  We have seen a shift in what customers want and there is now more of a need for real time cash outs so we need payment systems that allow us to get the money back to the player faster.

Rory Howard has been promoted to director of payments and customer diligence