Unzer partners with TrueBiz to automate merchant risk assessment at onboarding

Unzer has partnered with TrueBiz to automate merchant risk assessment at the very start of the merchant application process. No manual review. No upfront KYB cost.

Unzer serves more than 90,000 merchants across e-commerce, POS, acquiring, and BNPL. As a licensed acquirer operating across multiple regulated markets, every onboarding decision carries underwriting responsibility. Risk needs to be accurate, consistent, and explainable at scale.

Risk decision without full visibility

Despite working with multiple providers, much of Unzer’s assessment and onboarding process still relied on human investigation.

​​Traditional data confirms a business exists. It doesn’t show how it operates. 

The gap between registry data and real-world merchant behavior was being filled manually, increasing costs and creating inconsistencies.

Manual investigation → slower decisions → knowledge locked in analysts → doesn’t scale

Unzer also operates within an MMSP model, where replacing providers is not straightforward. That made it critical to introduce a new layer of intelligence without disrupting existing workflows.

A broader transformation of risk operations

This wasn’t about improving a single step. It was part of Unzer’s wider effort to redesign how the risk function operates.

The team set out to:

• Validate merchant data with high confidence

• Automate decisioning at the start of onboarding

• Apply consistent risk logic across the entire merchant portfolio

• Integrate into an internal intelligence stack and CRM

• Keep human oversight for escalations and final judgement

How it works

Unzer’s manual investigation layer is now supported by automated risk checks.

TrueBiz sits at the very beginning of the application flow. A merchant submits initial details. No documents. No manual review. TrueBiz runs a risk check immediately. 

A structured output is returned in seconds, including risk score, business classification (MCC), and supporting evidence, before any KYB spend is incurred.

That output feeds into Unzer’s internal systems alongside KYB and credit bureau data, acting as an independent signal within the broader decisioning stack. A risk expert makes the final decision.

The result is a layered approach to risk.

• automated intelligence at entry

• structured escalation for complex cases

• consistent logic applied from the first touchpoint

What this enables

No-touch onboarding for low-risk merchants

Top-tier merchants move through with minimal manual review.

Pre-filtering before cost is introduced

Low-quality or misrepresented merchants are filtered before KYB and bureau spend.

Analyst time focused on high-risk and more complicated cases

Less time gathering information. More time making decisions.

Consistent decisions across the portfolio
Automated risk logic built into systems, with human oversight. 

A practical shift for modern acquiring

Merchant risk decisions rely on understanding what a business actually does, not just what’s registered. We needed a way to get that visibility early, without adding more manual work, unnecessary cost, or disrupting our existing setup. TrueBiz gives us a consistent signal upfront, helping our team focus, and reducing the cost of assessing merchants.

Markus Laudenbach, Director Acquiring Risk, Unzer

Risk teams shouldn’t have to piece together a business from fragmented data. By analysing a merchant’s digital footprint in real time, we give teams a clear, structured view from the first touchpoint. That means faster decisions, lower cost, and less reliance on manual investigation.

Danny Hakimian, Founder & CEO, TrueBiz

We’re excited to be working with the Unzer team as they build a more scalable, automated approach to merchant risk.

About Unzer

Unzer helps merchants digitalise their business with simple and integrated payment and software solutions. Our platform connects payments, software, and financial services in one ecosystem – enabling merchants to sell online and in-store. Built for small and mid-sized businesses, Unzer makes commerce simpler and more efficient. More than 90,000 merchants across Europe already use Unzer’s ecosystem. The company employs around 750 people across eight offices in Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Luxembourg. 

About TrueBiz

TrueBiz provides merchant risk intelligence to help financial institutions detect high-risk and fraudulent businesses in seconds. It analyses their digital footprint across websites, domains, reviews, and over 250+ other signals to uncover misrepresentation and hidden risk, and delivers a decision-ready assessment in under 30 seconds. Trusted by risk leaders at Kurv, Merrick Bank, and Nexio, TrueBiz helps reduce manual reviews and strengthen risk controls.

New to TrueBiz? Reach out to the team to learn more about the platform.