Editorial Policy

This page documents the editorial principles that govern all content published on PaymentBrief. It covers mission, independence, source standards, verification, corrections, commercial relationships, conflict of interest, and AI usage.

Mission

PaymentBrief exists to close the gap between how payment systems actually work and what is publicly documented about them. Content is written for people who operate payment infrastructure — merchants, PSPs, fintech product teams, and platforms processing real volume — not for general audiences or for promotional purposes.

The standard for every piece of content: does it help a payments operator make a better decision than they would have without it? If the answer is no, it does not get published.

Editorial independence

All editorial decisions are made solely by the author, Shaun Toh. No advertiser, sponsor, PSP, or third party has any influence over what is covered, how it is framed, or what conclusions are drawn.

PaymentBrief does not accept sponsored posts, native advertising, or paid placement of any kind. Revenue comes from consulting engagements and direct reader support. A full accounting of commercial relationships is maintained at the Disclosure page.

Source standards

Every factual claim in a market guide or article is traceable to a primary source — a regulatory publication, card network rulebook, PSP pricing page, SEC filing, or equivalent authoritative document. The sourcing methodology, eight source types, and confidence classification system are documented in detail on the Methodology page.

Secondhand claims — figures cited from news articles or analyst reports without an underlying primary source — are treated as estimates and flagged as such. Where a claim cannot be sourced at the required confidence level, it is excluded.

Verification process

Before publication, every factual claim is checked against its cited primary source. For market guides, this includes cross-referencing regulator websites, PSP documentation, and card network publications. MDR ranges and pricing data are checked at the specific date noted in the guide and are flagged as point-in-time data, not current guarantees.

Market guides are reviewed at minimum every six months. Regulatory content is updated when material rule changes are published — we do not wait for scheduled review cycles.

Corrections

Factual errors are corrected promptly and transparently. When a material correction is made, the article is updated and the change is logged at the Corrections page with the date, the original claim, and the corrected version.

To report an error, email contact@paymentbrief.com with the URL, the specific claim, and the source you believe is correct.

Commercial disclosure

Any material commercial relationship with companies discussed in our coverage is disclosed at the point of first reference in that article, and in full on the Disclosure page. This includes affiliate relationships, consulting retainers, and referral arrangements. Disclosure is governed by FTC 16 C.F.R. Part 255.

Conflict of interest

Shaun Toh is Director of Digital Payments at Razer. PaymentBrief does not publish analysis of Razer's payment operations, internal infrastructure, or commercial relationships. Where Razer's market activity is relevant context in a broader piece — for example, as a named example of a merchant category — this is disclosed in the article and any Razer-specific claims are limited to publicly available information.

No content about Razer's competitors is written in a way that serves Razer's commercial interests. The author's employment does not influence coverage of PSPs, payment rails, or market dynamics.

AI usage policy

AI tools are used in the production of PaymentBrief content for research assistance, draft structure, and editing — not for the underlying analysis, sourcing, or conclusions. All factual claims, source verification, and editorial judgments are made by the author. AI-generated text that has not been substantively reviewed and rewritten is not published.

PaymentBrief does not publish AI-generated content as a substitute for expert analysis, and does not use AI to produce market guides or articles without primary source verification by a human editor.