A few weeks ago, FinTelegram published a report on a battle between high-risk payment processors Paypound, BoomBill, and XCepts. They accused each other of withholding $2.5 million that could not pay out to Paypound merchants. It is not uncommon and part of the business model of high-risk merchants for payment processors to freeze their funds or charge horrendous fees. We have received new complaints again from XCepts merchants in the online gambling industry about non-payouts. We advise merchants to stay alert when doing business with XCepts.
Key Data
| Trading name | XCepts |
| Business activity | High-risk payment processor Merchant services provider |
| Domains | https://xcepts.co.uk https://www.xcepts.com |
| Legal entity | XCepts Ltd |
| Related entity | Maxafi Holdings LLC |
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Related individuals | Paul Schroeder, US (LinkedIn) Veronica Baitova (Cristaudo), US, (LinkedIn) Frank Cristaudo, US (LinkedIn) |
| Authorization | No |
Short Narrative
The unregulated payment processor XCepts Ltd was established in May 2022 by the American entrepreneur Veronica Baitova a/k/a Veronica Baitova Cristaudo. The company seems connected to the notorious high-risk payment veteran Paul Schroeder, who has repeatedly been accused of illicit business practices. Besides XCepts, he also runs the payment processors and merchant services providers P-Baro LLC and Paynow Systems.
We have the Skype communication between the merchant and XCepts in which Paul Schroeder is also involved confirming that XCepts owes the money. Frank Cristaudo and his company Maxafi Holdings LLC are also mentioned in this Skype conversation. Evidently, Frank Cristaudo is also one of the managers of XCepts, according to Paul Schroeder. However, according to the merchants, the money has not been paid until today.
Therefore, the online rating agency PayRate42 has blacklisted XCepts (profile link), suggesting merchants should avoid the payment processor at all costs.
Share Information
If you have any additional information about Xcepts or experience with this high-risk payment processor, please let us know through our whistleblower system, Whistle42.
