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MeetTheExpert
Daria Rippingale To what do you attribute your swift rise from
managing a merchant portfolio to becoming
A s Chief Executive Officer since 2012 of BillPro a global authority on transaction processing,
Pty. Ltd., one of Australia's leading merchant e-commerce and international payments?
processing specialists, Daria Rippingale over-
sees a multimillion-dollar enterprise with oper- From the beginning, we took a global approach to payments.
ations extending across five continents. In this interview, We focused on introducing merchants to opportunities
she discusses her career path in payments, the distinction abroad by connecting even small businesses with relevant
between managed risk and high risk, the advantages of a payment solutions and types worldwide. Having worked
flat business management structure, and more. for an international company, I always viewed e-commerce
How did you get your start in business, and why have as a "no borders" industry, so we structured our business
you chosen a career in the payments industry? to support merchant growth worldwide, rather than just
I started working in e-commerce as the Affiliate Manager in local jurisdictions.
for a large gaming network, focusing on web-monetization
and agent incentives. In this role, I was part of a large This approach was vastly different from most mainstream
project to build out payment solutions for our affiliates, payment companies that generally look to develop a
which was my first introduction into payments. I realized stronghold locally before slowly adding products for new
quickly what a complex industry it is and yet, how hard regions over time. Because we came out of the gate with
it was to find effective solutions. I found the industry the goal of solving the international payments burden,
fascinating, and as a natural problem-solver, I was hooked. we stood out as a truly global payment processor. This
standout factor, along with the hardworking team we
After spending the year working on introducing these have in-house and our dedication to one-on-one service
solutions, I decided to really get a grasp on this industry. to merchants, is the reason we have celebrated so much
I knew I would need to fully immerse myself. I was success in such a short amount of time.
contacted by BillPro, a startup payment service provider
that was looking for someone to build out their strategy What's the difference between high risk and managed
and help them launch in Australia ? so I made the jump. risk? Why is that distinction important?
Since then, I have expanded the business over multiple The classification of "high risk" is really important
countries and adopted over 35 different payment types and causes a lot of confusion in the market. Two types
and technologies for our customers. The industry is of businesses are classified as high risk by banks and
constantly changing ? with advancements in technology acquirers: merchants who fall into high-risk categories
and new media, resulting in regulation changes. The (adult, gaming, replica, etc.) and merchants who pose high
learning curve never stops, and I enjoy the versatility and financial risk to a bank.
excitement of it all.
While we don't work with the high-risk category merchants,
we do provide services and assistance to merchants whose
businesses might be considered higher risk to banks from
a financial risk perspective.
In my opinion, these merchants should be classified by the
industry as "managed risk" merchants, because the term
"high risk" carries industry connotations and the stigma
that goes along with them.
Merchants with managed risk include companies
with high-value tickets (transaction sizes) or extended
fulfillment of their products. For example, a merchant
who makes custom jackets is considered high risk by
banks and acquirers because the merchant makes bespoke
products for customers. Banks would consider the retailer
high risk because:
• The per item transaction size is high (jackets might
be over $200 each)
• Fulfillment is extended (customers wait weeks for
the jacket to be made before it can be shipped)
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