AI SUMMARY
Most merchants treat payments like a utility: “Just let me run cards.”
Viktoria argues that’s the biggest mistake growing businesses make.
Here’s the core takeaway:
- Payments is not just processing — it’s compliance + risk + banking behavior + technology + legal exposure.
- If you don’t build a payments strategy, you’ll eventually be forced into one… under pressure.
- Account shutdowns often aren’t random — they’re usually risk policy changes, automated monitoring, prohibited product rules, or lack of business “substance” / meaningful presence.
- The future belongs to companies that treat payments like a function worthy of leadership — which is why Viktoria champions the role of a Chief Payment Officer (CPO).
Payments Strategy vs. Processing: Insights from Viktoria Soltesz | B2B Vault
Featuring Viktoria Soltesz on B2B Vault: The Biz to Biz Podcast
You’re watching B2B Vault: The Biz to Biz Podcast, hosted by Allen Kopelman and powered by Nationwide Payment Systems — where we break down business, payments, fintech, and the real stuff founders run into when money starts moving at scale.
In this episode, Allen sat down with Viktoria Soltesz, founder of PSP Angels and Soltesz Institute, to talk about a topic most businesses ignore… until it becomes an emergency:
Payments and banking strategy.
Not “who has the lowest rate.”
Not “which checkout button is easiest.”
But the actual system behind your money — how banks think, how risk decisions happen, what “meaningful presence” really means, why accounts get frozen, and why a startup can get wiped out by the wrong processor at the wrong time.
And yes — we also got into crypto, stablecoins, and why “fast onboarding with no questions” is usually a red flag, not a benefit.
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Meet the Guest: Viktoria Soltesz
Viktoria Soltesz is based in the EU and runs two platforms focused on payments education, consulting, and transparency:
- PSP Angels (payments consulting)
- Soltesz Institute (education + training)
She’s also:
- A contributor to The Green Sheet (greensheet.com), the long-running U.S. payments industry publication
- Author of books including Moving Money and CPO (Chief Payment Officer), available on Amazon
Her mission is straightforward:
Make the payments and banking industry more ethical, transparent, and understandable — because everyone gets burned by it at some point.
The Payments Problem Nobody Trains You For
One of Viktoria’s strongest points is also one of the most obvious once you hear it:
Business owners learn:
- marketing strategy
- sales strategy
- hiring strategy
- finance basics
But almost nobody learns:
- banking risk behavior
- how acquirers/PSPs evaluate merchants
- what triggers holds, shutdowns, reserves?
- how compliance is enforced across borders
- how to negotiate payment terms from a position of knowledge
And when you don’t understand the rules, you can’t spot the traps:
- “instant approvals”
- “no underwriting”
- “no documents needed.”
- “any business accepted.”
- “just pick your category and go live.”
Those are often the exact systems that implode later.
Public Banks vs Private Banks: How Risk Appetite Really Works
Allen broke down a practical framework that many merchants feel but can’t articulate:
Public banks (or heavily regulated, board-driven institutions)
- Policy shifts can happen quickly.
- Risk appetites can change without warning.
- Certain industries can become “unwanted” overnight.
Private or closely-held banks.
- Often more flexible on niche or complex industries
- Sometimes I am willing to take on calculated risk.
- More relationship-driven decision making.
Viktoria agreed with the core idea — and added that “random yes/no decisions” usually aren’t random. They have reasons tied to:
- regulation
- historical banking behavior
- reputational risk
- compliance penalties
- how banks actually make money (and avoid losing it)
The Stripe / Shopify Trap: Fast Setup, Slow Disaster
A big part of the discussion focused on what happens when merchants choose payment providers based on speed alone.
What merchants think they’re buying:
“Fast onboarding, easy integration, low friction.”
What they may actually be signing up for:
- automated monitoring (no human review)
- layered banking relationships behind the scenes.
- risk decisions made by upstream partners
- shutdowns triggered by traffic, product type, keywords, chargeback patterns, or compliance flags.
Viktoria put it bluntly: many platforms will let you run for a short period, gather data, then shut you off when automated systems flag risk.
And when that happens:
- there’s no phone number.
- no relationship manager
- no clear reason given.
- your cash flow gets punched in the face.
The Biggest Blind Spot: Restricted vs Prohibited Lists
Allen called out something that causes nonstop pain in the market:
Merchants don’t read:
- prohibited products list.
- restricted categories list.
- underwriting requirements
- “you may be approved, but you need additional review” language.
Worse: many platforms don’t clearly warn you at checkout that your category is unsupported until after you’ve invested time and money building the business.
That creates the nightmare scenario:
- build site for 2 months.
- run ads.
- start getting orders.
- then the processor shuts you down
Meaningful Presence and “Substance” Requirements
This part matters for international founders and cross-border ecommerce.
Allen highlighted the “meaningful presence” issue that shows up constantly:
- foreign owner sets up U.S. entity (Delaware/Wyoming)
- no U.S. residence
- no U.S. officer / signer
- only a foreign passport
- no operational “substance”
- banking/processing application gets denied or frozen.
Viktoria reinforced the real reason:
Banks are effectively the police of the economy.
They carry the liability, and regulators punish them first.
So even if a structure is “technically legal,” banks can still reject it because:
- it looks like tax avoidance.
- it looks like obfuscation.
- it creates compliance exposure.
If you can’t explain the structure convincingly on paper, the bank won’t risk it.
“Straw Signers” and Fast-Money Traps
Allen brought up something ugly that still circulates online:
“Do you have a 600+ credit score? Open an account for someone else and get paid.”
This is how people get financially wrecked:
- fraudsters run volume.
- chargebacks hit
- merchant disappears.
- the signer gets pursued for losses and compliance violations.
Viktoria’s quote hits hard:
“There is only free cheese in a mousetrap.”
If a provider onboards you with questionable structure and zero diligence, it’s a sign they onboard a lot of other questionable merchants too — and your money may be sitting in the same risk pool.
Compliance Isn’t Optional — It’s the Cost of Stability
This is where the conversation becomes extremely practical:
If you sell regulated or sensitive products, you don’t just need “a processor.”
You need:
- compliance positioning
- the right underwriting path
- the right documentation
- the right provider relationships
- operational discipline (website claims, disclosures, policies)
Especially for:
- adult
- CBD/hemp
- nutraceuticals
- telemedicine / online pharmacy
- cross-border “legal here, illegal there” products
Viktoria also highlighted an important modern issue:
A product can be legal in your location but illegal in a target market due to one ingredient — and that can trigger:
- disputes
- shutdowns
- bank reviews
- regulatory issues
Why Viktoria Pushes the Chief Payment Officer Concept
Here’s the big “future of business” idea she’s known for:
Payments touches everything:
- UX and conversion rate
- fraud risk
- data security
- compliance
- cross-border rules
- cash flow timing.
- disputes/chargebacks
- bank relationships
- scalability
Yet most companies assign payments decisions to:
- someone in ops
- someone in finance
- an outside developer
- a “whoever owns the Stripe login” situation.
Viktoria believes growing businesses need a role — internal or fractional — that understands:
- compliance + finance + legal + technology + security
and can bridge all of them.
That’s the Chief Payment Officer (CPO) concept.
Crypto, Stablecoins, and “Money Is Already Digital”
Allen and Viktoria also dug into stable coins and crypto.
Allen’s take:
- money is already digital (cards, ACH, wires)
- stablecoins still have fees and friction.
- crypto began (in part) as “off-the-radar money.”
- once crypto hits regulated exchanges, the anonymity disappears.
Viktoria’s view:
- crypto is a double-edged sword.
- regulation is inevitable when something acts like money.
- systems exist to prevent tax avoidance and large-scale abuse.
- innovation is welcome — but it must be better, not just “less accountable.”
Where to Find Viktoria Soltesz
- PSP Angels: pspangels.com
- Soltesz Institute: solteszinstitute.com
- Search: “CPO” or “Chief Payment Officer” with her name
- LinkedIn: Viktoria Soltesz
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