A payment gateway with direct Visa and Mastercard membership means the company processing your card payments is a member of the card schemes itself. It is not a customer of another member. For a game key or skin store, this decides who approves your account and who can change its rules later.
A Principal customer takes part in the card scheme directly. An Affiliate customer takes part through the sponsorship of a Principal.
Under Mastercard’s rules, a Principal can sponsor Affiliates and is responsible for their settlement, while an Affiliate can’t sponsor anyone. Mastercard’s licensing overview sets out the practical differences.
| Principal | Affiliate | |
| Settlement | Settles with Mastercard directly | Uses the Principal’s settlement set-up |
| Billing | Billed directly by Mastercard | Billed by the Principal |
| BINs | Holds its own BINs | Uses BINs delegated by the Principal |
| System access | Direct | Indirect |
With a Principal Member, one company underwrites your store, sets your account rules and settles your card payments with the scheme. With an Affiliate, a second company’s policy sits behind every decision.
The buyer’s bank makes the final decision on every authorisation request. No membership level overrides it.
Most declines come from the issuer, although a payment can also be declined earlier in the chain. Direct membership removes one company from that chain and puts your account rules with one party. For approval rates, ask any provider for numbers for stores like yours, split by buyer country.
Ask the provider in writing whether it is a Principal or an Affiliate customer of each scheme. Then ask for it to be referenced in your agreement.
What acquirers check before approving a store is covered in payment gateway for a game key or skin store.
PayDo is a Principal Member of Mastercard and of Visa. Your account rules and card acceptance sit with one company.
PayDo is authorised by the FCA in the UK and the MFSA in Malta and registered with FINTRAC in Canada. It is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified for card payments and keeps client funds at tier-1 European banks, separate from its own. To check whether your store fits, send your website and monthly card volume to the PayDo sales team through the PayDo Business Account page.
Yes. PayDo is a Principal Member of Visa and Mastercard and accepts card payments for game key and skin stores without a sponsoring member.
A Principal customer takes part in the Mastercard scheme directly, settles with Mastercard and holds its own BINs. It can also sponsor Affiliate customers.
A Principal takes part in the scheme directly. An Affiliate takes part through a sponsoring Principal, uses its BINs and relies on its settlement set-up.
Not on its own. The buyer’s bank makes the final decision on every card payment. Direct membership removes a sponsor from the chain and puts your account rules with one company.
Ask the provider in writing whether it is a Principal or an Affiliate customer of each scheme. Ask for the status to be referenced in your agreement.
