Finance and Tax Consultant Viktoria Soltesz says bargaining power has "changed completely" among banks and industries such as online gaming.

Speaking at SiGMA, Soltesz discussed high-risk industries which encompass a wide range of sectors, from pharmaceuticals to gaming.

Delivering a presentation on payment challenges within those industries, Soltesz stated banks have enjoyed a power shift in recent years.

She said: "Bargaining power has changed completely. Today, banks select their clients and not the other way around.

"We have to work with banks because we are running an online business. But, in order to do so, we have to deal with security, fraud and chargebacks, cross-border transactions and rapid changes."

Soltesz also highlighted a particular challenge for high-risk companies, namely when signing up with a new payment service provider (PSP).

"Clients want to work with new PSPs; PSPs want to onboard new clients," she explained.

"But acquiring banks have strict regulations and compliance for high-risk applications. This means more expensive and riskier banking for high-risk clients.

"Banks have their own risk assessment; there is no general criteria and there is no trust. There needs to be common criteria between regulators and banks."