- 5 minute read
When I sat down to write this column, I thought maybe the easiest way to get started would be to click on ChatGPT to kick off my notes. So, I did that and to my surprise a nice paragraph about artificial intelligence (AI) and the adult industry popped up. I decided that using ChatGPT was cheating, and I thought it would be best to focus on my own thoughts for this month’s column instead. The abilities of AI and its game-changing technology in payment processing continue to grow. More and more people are using AI to develop their own merchant sites. This month, we wanted to dive into AI and what are the requirements for AI websites, what banks will approve, and how AI is making payment processing safer.
AI and Immerging Sites
Recently we’ve had several requests for sites focused on AI. These range from new subscription sites or existing CAM or FAN sites offering an AI solution to their content creators as an additional way to monetize their brands. AI for adult sites is being used to make content more accessible and customizable. It allows business owners to predict what their viewers want to watch, offer recommendations, and customize their offerings to deliver personalized content.
When we started to get more requests for AI-driven content sites, we reached out to our acquiring bank partners looking for advice on how to handle them. The banks were also a little bit stumped and asked for examples of what we were working on. To date, we have had a few AI programs approved and they are already live and processing. As we went through the underwriting process, we treated the AI programs as if they were user generated content sites. And just like those user generated sites, the same card brand rules apply. AI merchants should be aware of a few things. First, you need to have controls in place to moderate all AI generated content and review it prior to posting. Second, all card brand rules must be followed so even if the content is AI generated there should not be any underage content, bestiality, non-consensual images/videos etc . Lastly, there need to be controls put in place by merchants to prevent content from being generated which would make the end product appear to be illegal. For example, showing minors, the use of a celebrity image or more.
Bank Approval Checklist
Before you can get the bank’s approval there are some key questions that need to be answered.
- How is the content used for generating AI images acquired?
- How was consent obtained for all the images and content appearing on the websites?
- Does a person have the right to request their content be removed? This applies to both content creators and any individual accessing the site.
- What controls does the merchant have in place to prevent content from being generated which could make the resulting product appear to be illegal, for example underage, a celebrity image, etc.
AI, The Fraud Detector
Love it or fear it, the technological advancements of AI have revolutionized the way we pay. There are many plus points as it offers enhanced security, efficiency, and decision-making skills. With AI, transactions can be completed in real-time allowing businesses to manage their cash flow better and reconcile transactions faster.
As a payment processor we have used AI, or as we called it machine learning, to help us with our risk and fraud management for years. One of the ways to enhance this detection is through AI’s capacity for advanced analytics and machine learning. These technologies can be used to identify patterns in transaction data that could not be detected using traditional methods. AI tools help our risk team act on suspicious information in almost real time to stop fraud. Also, real-time risk assessment can be used to analyze user behavior and identify anomalies that could indicate potential fraud. AI can detect fraudulent user behavior by analyzing its geolocation and transaction history too.
AI has also been employed by many merchants to support customer service. It contributes to excellent customer support by improving the customer experience and their satisfaction in many ways. Chatbots are a common application of AI used in customer service helping customers with basic inquiries and providing information. Virtual assistants can answer customer questions promptly which can lead to a better customer experience. This frees up the regular customer service staff, giving them more time to handle complex issues that need human intervention.
AI can also contribute to the customer experience through personalization based on customer preferences and purchase history which can help with customer retention. Let’s face it, AI is here to stay and if properly used it can be a helpful tool in many ways. It can even help you get an article started. It improves risk management, customer service and can even help forecast what products your customers would prefer.
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Have more questions around AI and payment processing? Reach out to us at [email protected]. I promise a human will get right back to you!
