Description

A focused course, tailored for you

The Payments Compliance Specialist Evidence Playbook

Turn the queue of merchant onboarding, PCI scope, BSA alerts, and card scheme attestations into clean evidence the QSA, the issuing bank, and the auditor sign off without rework.

The compliance specialist holds the queue, but the evidence sits across underwriting, risk, treasury, and the QSA folder. Every audit cycle becomes an archaeology project.

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

The work is not hard. The work is fragmented. A high-risk merchant onboarding case wants a single clean packet: MCC narrative, beneficial-owner refresh, sanctions screen disposition, PCI SAQ-D scope letter, card scheme registration evidence, and the processor due diligence file. In practice those artefacts live in seven folders owned by four teams, each with a different naming convention. The compliance specialist becomes the courier instead of the owner. When the QSA arrives for the annual PCI DSS assessment, when the issuing bank requests evidence under their sponsor bank oversight programme, when FinCEN refreshes the MSB list, the specialist spends four days reconstructing what should have been a one-folder pull. The fix is not a new GRC tool. The fix is a worked evidence template for each repeating artefact, plus a routing map that names which team owns which artefact at which stage of the merchant lifecycle. That is what this course delivers.

What you walk away with

Close a high-risk merchant onboarding case in one packet, not three.
Produce a BSA/AML alert disposition memo a federal examiner reads without follow-up questions.
Map PCI DSS scope to SAQ-D or report on compliance with a single evidence index the QSA accepts.
Refresh card scheme registration evidence (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Amex) without scrambling at scheme reporting deadlines.
Hand the sponsor bank a quarterly oversight packet that does not trigger a follow-up request.

The 12 modules

Module 1. The merchant onboarding evidence packet for high-risk MCCs

A single template for the high-risk merchant onboarding packet: MCC narrative tied to business model, beneficial ownership chart with refresh date, OFAC and PEP screen with disposition, anti-money-laundering risk score with rationale, expected processing volume with source documents, and the sales channel verification. Built so the underwriter receives one clean PDF, not a checklist of follow-ups. Includes the routing map that names which team produces which artefact at which stage.

Module 2. BSA and AML alert disposition memos federal examiners accept

The disposition memo template for a transaction monitoring alert: alert rule that fired, transaction pattern in plain English, expected behaviour given the merchant profile, sanctions and 314(a) cross-check, decision (close, escalate, SAR draft), and the supervisor sign-off block. Plus the SAR narrative pattern that survives FinCEN scrutiny. The point is a memo a federal examiner reads once, not a memo that triggers four follow-up requests.

Module 3. PCI DSS scope mapping for SAQ-D versus report on compliance

The cardholder data environment scope map: cardholder data flows, connected systems, segmentation controls, scope reduction rationale, and the SAQ-D versus report on compliance decision logic. Delivered as a one-page index plus a worked example for a Level 1 acquirer scope and a Level 2 merchant scope. Built to be the document the QSA opens first, with every other piece of evidence linked from it.

Module 4. The QSA evidence room: clean handover for the annual assessment

The folder structure, naming convention, and evidence index the QSA expects when the assessment kicks off. Twelve sub-areas (network diagrams, change management, vulnerability scans, penetration tests, access reviews, key management, incident response runbooks, vendor list, policy index, training records, log review samples, and the previous report on compliance findings disposition) with worked templates for each. Cuts the QSA back-and-forth from weeks to days.

Module 5. Card scheme registration and BRAM, MATCH, VMSS evidence files

The registration refresh checklist for each card scheme (Visa BRAM, Mastercard MATCH, Discover and Amex equivalents): the merchant categories that require registration, the documentation each scheme expects, the reporting deadlines, and the consequences of late filing. Plus the MATCH-listing evidence pattern for terminated merchants. Built so scheme deadlines stop being a fire drill.

Module 6. OFAC sanctions hit memo and the 10-day OFAC report

The hit memo template for a true sanctions match: screening tool, list version, name and identifier matched, secondary verification (date of birth, address, beneficial ownership), funds disposition, and the decision (block, reject, release). Plus the OFAC reporting template for blocked and rejected transactions filed within the required window. Written so the OFAC examiner accepts the memo as filed.

Module 7. FinCEN MSB registration refresh and state money transmitter coordination

The registration refresh checklist for FinCEN MSB filings and the coordination map for the 49 state money transmitter licences (and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico): renewal cadence, financial condition reports, surety bond evidence, agent location updates, and the consumer complaint summary each state expects. Built so the legal team and the compliance specialist stop duplicating work.

Module 8. Third-party processor and gateway due diligence file

The due diligence file for processors, gateways, and ISVs that touch cardholder data on the company's behalf: PCI DSS attestation of compliance, SOC 2 report scope review, sanctions screening confirmation, data flow diagram, contractual flow-down clauses, and the annual reassessment trigger. Includes the gap memo template for vendors that fail any of the seven checks.

Module 9. Sponsor bank quarterly oversight packet

The packet template the sponsor bank receives every quarter: merchant portfolio summary by risk tier, sanctions screening exception count with disposition, BSA alert volume and false-positive rate, chargeback and dispute trend by reason code, complaint log, and the open audit findings status. Built so the sponsor bank's oversight call has the answer in the packet, not in a follow-up email thread.

Module 10. Chargeback, dispute, and Regulation E evidence trail

The evidence trail for a Regulation E claim and a card-scheme chargeback: cardholder claim intake, merchant rebuttal request, supporting documents from the merchant, the representment package format each scheme expects, and the final disposition memo. Plus the Reg E error resolution timeline. Built so the dispute team and the compliance specialist share a single source of truth instead of arguing about who has the latest file.

Module 11. Consumer protection: UDAAP, Reg Z, Reg E, and the complaint log

The complaint log structure the CFPB and state regulators expect: intake source, complaint category, product or service, response time, resolution, root cause tag, and the trend rollup. Plus the UDAAP red-flag review for marketing copy, fee disclosures, and authorisation flows. Delivered with the worked example of a complaint that became a regulatory inquiry and how the log would have closed it earlier.

Module 12. The compliance specialist routing map and queue close-out cadence

The routing map that names which team owns which artefact at which stage of the merchant lifecycle (sales, underwriting, onboarding, risk, BSA, PCI, sponsor bank). Plus the weekly queue close-out cadence that turns the ticket pile into a measurable throughput number the compliance director shows on a one-page dashboard. The map is the artefact that ends the courier role.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

When a high-risk MCC application has been sitting in the queue for three days because the packet is incomplete, modules 1, 2, and 6 close it.

When the QSA emails to schedule the annual PCI DSS assessment, modules 3 and 4 hand them a clean evidence room.

When the sponsor bank's quarterly oversight call is on the calendar, modules 9, 10, and 11 mean the answer is already in the packet.

When a card scheme reporting deadline lands the same week as an OFAC hit, modules 5, 6, and 7 keep both filings clean.

What you get with this course

Twelve written modules in the Art of Service learning environment.
Downloadable templates for every module: merchant onboarding packet, BSA disposition memo, PCI scope map, QSA evidence index, OFAC hit memo, sponsor bank oversight packet, complaint log, vendor due diligence file.
Worked examples drawn from acquirer, payment facilitator, and MSB operating models.
The hand-built implementation playbook tuned to the recipient's account mix and team routing, delivered alongside course access.
30-day money-back guarantee.

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Within 24 hours: account provisioned, all twelve modules accessible, templates downloadable, implementation playbook delivered.

Week 1: work through modules 1 to 4, close the next onboarding case with the new packet template.

Week 2: modules 5 to 8, refresh card scheme and OFAC evidence files.

Week 3: modules 9 to 12, install the sponsor bank packet template and the routing map.

Before and after

Before

The specialist holds the queue but spends four days reconstructing evidence every time the QSA, the sponsor bank, or a card scheme asks. The evidence sits in seven folders owned by four teams. Every audit cycle becomes an archaeology project and the queue throughput is invisible to the compliance director.

After

The specialist closes a high-risk onboarding case in one packet. The QSA receives a single evidence index with everything linked. The sponsor bank's quarterly oversight call has the answer already in the packet. The compliance director sees a one-page weekly throughput dashboard and the specialist owns the queue instead of couriering between teams.

What happens if you do not address this

The queue keeps growing. The next QSA assessment surfaces the same evidence gaps the last one did. The sponsor bank issues a Matter Requiring Attention because the quarterly oversight packet keeps triggering follow-up requests. The state examiner finds a complaint log that does not reconcile to the call recordings. None of these failures are about the specialist's competence. They are about the absence of a worked template set and a routing map. Doing nothing means another year of reconstructing evidence under deadline pressure.

Who it is for

The in-house compliance specialist at a payments processor, acquirer, payment facilitator, or money services business who routes BSA/AML alerts, owns merchant onboarding due diligence, supports the QSA on the PCI DSS assessment, files card scheme registration and BRAM/MATCH evidence, and answers issuing-bank sponsor oversight requests. Three to seven years in payments compliance, post-CAMS or working toward it, comfortable in the queue but tired of being the courier between teams.

Who this is NOT for. Not for the Chief Compliance Officer writing the policy. Not for the underwriter pricing merchant risk. Not for the QSA running the assessment. Not for the bank examiner. This is for the specialist who clears the queue, owns the evidence, and wants the template set that makes the queue close cleanly.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. Around 90 minutes per module plus the time to adapt one template to the recipient's actual queue. Roughly 25 to 30 hours total across three weeks at a sustainable pace.

Why $199 is the right number

ACAMS membership and the CAMS exam teach the regulatory frame but do not deliver worked evidence templates for the queue. PCI SSC training certifies the QSA, not the in-house specialist. Card scheme webinars are scheme-specific and rarely connect to the broader evidence map. A GRC tool licence costs more per year than this course and still requires someone to write the templates that populate it. The gap this course fills is the worked artefact set the specialist uses tomorrow morning.

FAQ

Is this course tied to one card scheme or one regulator?

No. It covers Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and the firm registration and reporting, FinCEN MSB and SAR filings, OFAC, CFPB Regulation E and UDAAP, and the 49 state money transmitter coordination. The implementation playbook is tuned to the schemes and regulators your account mix actually touches.

Will the templates work for a payment facilitator versus a traditional acquirer?

Yes. Each template has a payment facilitator variant and an acquirer variant where the artefact differs (notably merchant onboarding, sponsor bank oversight, and the BRAM equivalent for the facilitator model). The implementation playbook picks the variant your operating model uses.

Does this teach CAMS material?

It complements CAMS. CAMS teaches the AML frame and the regulatory landscape. This course teaches the worked artefacts the specialist produces every week. The two together make the specialist credible in the exam and effective in the queue.

What if my team uses a GRC tool already?

The templates load into any GRC tool (Archer, ServiceNow GRC, AuditBoard, LogicGate). The course gives you the artefact content. The tool is the delivery surface. Most teams find they need the artefact templates before the tool stops being expensive shelfware.

How current is the regulatory content?

Reviewed and refreshed each quarter against FinCEN advisories, OFAC guidance, CFPB enforcement actions, and card scheme operating regulation updates. The implementation playbook is rebuilt at delivery time, so it reflects the current cycle.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.