Payment Facilitators: How the PayFac model is transforming the way Norwegian companies handle payments

Norwegian businesses are becoming increasingly digital. New technologies enable small and medium-sized companies to compete on equal terms with larger players – not least in payments. One of the most interesting developments in recent years is the Payment Facilitator model (PayFac) – a solution that makes it easier, faster, and more flexible to accept payments online.

Henrik Asplund, Payment Partner Account Manager at Worldline, explains: 
“The PayFac model gives Norwegian companies the freedom to control their the entire payment experience — from onboarding to payment processing to settlement — while staying fully compliant.”

Discover how the Payment Facilitator (PayFac) model is reshaping the way Norwegian companies handle digital payments. Learn what a PayFac is, why more businesses are adopting the model, and how it enables faster onboarding, greater control, and new revenue streams. You’ll also see how Worldline helps companies grow through secure, compliant, and scalable PayFac solutions.

Our article on payment facilitators is aimed at entrepreneurs, start-ups, and business owners looking to scale their operations, as well as financially savvy readers who want to understand emerging trends in the payments landscape. It also targets professionals working within the payments industry, including fintech innovators, service providers, and anyone interested in how modern payment infrastructure supports business growth.

A Payment Facilitator (PayFac) is a company that enables other businesses to accept payments without having to apply for their own merchant account with a bank or acquirer. Instead, the business is connected as a sub-merchant under the PayFac’s main account, allowing them to start accepting payments almost immediately. 

The PayFac model is becoming more common, especially among SaaS providers, marketplaces, and platforms that want to own the entire customer journey – including the payment experience – rather than referring users to external payment providers.

In short, a PayFac acts as a payments hub between the consumer, the acquirer, and sub-merchants.

Traditionally, getting approved as a merchant requires a long and administrative process: credit checks, risk assessment, contracts negotiations, and technical integration with payment gateways. This can take weeks – especially for small businesses.

With the PayFac model, it’s considerably faster:

• The PayFac opens a master merchant account with an acquirer.

• Sub-merchants are onboarded digitally via the PayFac platform. 

• KYC and risk checks are performed automatically in real time.

• After approval, the sub-merchant can start receiving payments directly.

• The PayFac handles transactions, settlements, reporting, and complies with all relevant regulations (PSD2, AML, GDPR).

Result: Faster onboarding, simpler administration, and a more cohesive payment experience for both businesses and customers. 

Consumers expect flexible payment options – Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, plastic cards, Swish, Mobilepay, Buy Now Pay Later, and direct debit are standard. Here, the PayFac model offers several clear advantages:

1. Fast onboarding  
   Sub-merchants can start accepting payments within hours instead of weeks. Perfect for startups, restaurants, SaaS companies, booking platforms and marketplaces where time to market is critical. 
   
   

2. Full control over the payment flow 
   As the PayFac, you own the entire customer journey – from payment to settlement. You do a complete white labeling, deciding on your own look and feel, from the color and design of the payment terminal to how the Checkout on the website should look like. Creating a stronger customer relationship and brand experience. 
   
   

3. New revenue opportunities  
   You can charge for transactions, currency conversions, and additional services. Payments become a source of revenue, not just a cost center. 
   
   

4. Scalability 
   Once the PayFac infrastructure is in place, you can easily expand to other markets without needing separate acquirer agreements.

Being a PayFac entails responsibility. In Norway, payment services are regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) and are based on the EU’s PSD2 directive. This means that all actors handling payments for others must meet requirements for:

• KYC (Know Your Customer)

• AML (Anti-Money Laundering)

• Transaction monitoring 

• Data protection (GDPR)

A modern PayFac platform automates these processes, providing both safety and efficiency. Through digital identity verification, real-time risk assessment, and smart compliance workflows, Danish companies can adhere to the regulations without losing pace.

To succeed in the Norwegian market, a PayFac solution must support the payment methods Norwegians prefer:

• Vipps Mobilepay – the obvious mobile payment method, both in-store and online
• Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay
• Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard)
• Buy Now Pay Later solutions such as Klarna

By consolidating these into a single PayFac flow, companies can offer customers a smooth and seamless payment experience, regardless of channel.

For many Norwegian companies, becoming a full PayFac can be a big step. An alternative is a hybrid model, where you collaborate with an established payment partner that provides the PayFac infrastructure, while the company itself owns the regulatory licenses and sub-merchant relationship.

This approach offers:

• Lower regulatory complexity as you do not need to build and maintain the payment system, e.g. the terminal platform or ecommerce gateway.

• Shorter implementation time by going to market with a well proven third-party application. 

• Greater control over the customer journey by being the main point of contact for the sub-merchant.

• Ability to grow into the PayFac role at your own pace

For Norwegian SaaS companies, platforms, and marketplaces, the PayFac model can become a strategic growth engine. By integrating payments directly into their platform, companies can:

• Increase margins by owning a greater part of the payment journey and cutting out intermediaries.
• Build deeper customer loyalty b when all payment products such as the card acquiring, terminal and ecommerce gateway all come from the same provider
• Gain valuable insights into transactions and customer behavior by  being closer to the payment ecosystem and the network providers such as the card schemes.
• Differentiate themselves from competitors with a local and tailored payment experience

As e-commerce, subscription models, and digital services grow, PayFac solutions will become a central part of Norways fintech ecosystem.

Follow these 4 steps to become a Worldline PayFac

If your ambition is to be in total control of the merchant relationship and you have a distinguished vision that you could add a value to the payment ecosystem that is non-existent today, then follow these 4 steps:

1. Apply for a Payment Institute, Electronic Money Institute (EMI) or Banking license at the FSA (Financial Supervisory Authority).
2. Establish a relationship with a bank that could set you up with the currency accounts you need and from where you will conduct the payout to your submerchants.
3. Buy PSP services from a PCI DSS certified third party that is integrated to the acquirer or build your own gateway and integrate with the acquirer.
4. And last but not least, get in contact with our Worldline Payment Facilitator team who will help you get up and running with the connections to the card schemes.