W2 latest to waive fees amid Covid-19 pandemic

Regulatory compliance solutions provider W2 Global Data has become the latest supplier to offer its solutions free of charge to new customers in a bid to help gaming businesses mitigate the impact of novel coronavirus (Covid-19).

The supplier aims to help organisations requiring services such as identity verification, address validation, and anti-money laundering data sets ensure business continuity without any initial financial outlay or need for significant technical resources.

W2 said it would act as a fall-back should a partner’s main compliance solutions provider experience disruption or outages as a result of the pandemic, ensuring it could continue to meet all relevant regulatory standards wherever it operates.

As such it is offering to waive integration fees and up front costs, as well as providing free round-the-clock support and no commitment to process transactions to those that sign up for its services.

“While I am trying to avoid the use of the word ‘unprecedented’ as it is being thrown around a lot at the moment, it is true to say that we are in a world of unknown at present and not a single one of us will remain unaffected,” W2 chief executive Warren Russell said.

“At W2 we have always taken pride in the way we aim to look after our customers, sometimes we get it wrong, of course we do. But we always try our best.

“Despite our best efforts, and those of our peers at this time, it is regretful to say that some of us will not come through this, no matter how hard we try,” Russell said. “If you are a regulated business, you don’t want to be in a position whereby your chosen partner has been unable to continue to serve you – regulation and compliance doesn’t stop and its shame to think it but a small minority will try and take advantage of a perceived weakened infrastructure.”

Suppliers including NSoft and esports data specialst Bayes Holding have already announced significant reductions in the cost of their services to help operators mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.