An Aperia Compliance alternative for ISOs, acquirers and PayFacs

Reviewing your merchant PCI program, or comparing Aperia Compliance before you sign? Here is a fair description of Aperia Compliance, the questions worth asking any vendor, how Compliance Assessment Tool works, and a practical plan for switching.

About Aperia Compliance

Aperia Compliance describes itself as built for acquirers, ISOs, banks, PSPs, PayFacs and payment providers, helping them deliver branded PCI, merchant support, protection and revenue-driving services through one fully white-labeled platform. It says it works through payment providers rather than directly with merchants. IXOPAY's website describes it as "an IXOPAY Company".

Its PCI Apply product lists a branded portal and communications, guided SAQ workflows, integrated ASV scanning, automated merchant reminders, portfolio-level reporting on merchant progress and scan status, and a U.S.-based Compliance Center that supports merchants in many languages. Aperia Compliance says it is qualified as an Approved Scanning Vendor.

Beyond PCI it lists optional services such as script monitoring, website and privacy compliance, endpoint protection and breach protection.

Capabilities and terms vary by program, so confirm details with Aperia Compliance.

What to compare

The same questions apply to any merchant PCI program. The CAT column is what we do; the right-hand column is what to ask Aperia Compliance. We don't answer for them.

What to compare	Compliance Assessment Tool	Ask Aperia Compliance
SAQ selection	The merchant describes each way they take payments in their own words. AI picks the right SAQ for each payment method from all nine PCI DSS v4.0.1 merchant SAQs, asking a follow-up only when it needs one.	Aperia Compliance lists guided SAQ workflows in PCI Apply and describes its SAQ experience as "fewer questions". Ask how the SAQ type is chosen, what the merchant confirms before signing, and how a merchant that takes cards more than one way is handled.
Merchant experience	Every question is written in plain English for that business and that payment method, and each answer shapes the next. The merchant reviews and confirms every answer; nothing is auto-attested.	Can we see the exact questions a merchant with a countertop terminal answers? What share of invited merchants complete, and how long does it take them?
Branding and white-label	Your brand: a white-label portal and embeddable iframe, and branded invite emails.	Aperia Compliance describes PCI Apply as fully white-labeled, with a branded portal and branded communications. Ask whose brand appears on the emails, the portal and the SAQ and AoC documents themselves.
Integration options	Zero-code bulk invites, a platform redirect, an embeddable iframe, a REST API (OpenAPI 3.1) and an MCP server for AI agents. An optional Authorize.Net connection reads how a merchant takes payments.	Aperia Compliance says its platform launches with no development work on your side. If you want PCI validation inside your own onboarding, ask whether there is also a documented API or embeddable option, and whether your engineers can test it before a contract.
Portfolio reporting	Portfolio visibility for ISOs and banks: a portfolio API, CSV export for your sponsor bank, and signed webhooks.	PCI Apply lists portfolio-level reporting on merchant progress, scan status and completion activity. Ask whether you can export that view in your sponsor bank's format and receive status events in your own systems.
Document output	The official PCI SSC SAQ and Attestation of Compliance, filled in and signed digitally by the merchant, as PDFs.	Is the output the official PCI SSC SAQ and AoC, signed by the merchant?
Pricing model	$25 per completed assessment. Free sandbox.	Is it priced per merchant, per month, per assessment, or bundled into a fee charged to merchants? Who pays, you or the merchant?
Bundled services	None: CAT does the SAQ and AoC. Pair it with an Approved Scanning Vendor if merchants need quarterly scans.	Aperia Compliance lists ASV scanning and Compliance Center support in PCI Apply, and optional add-ons such as script monitoring, breach protection and endpoint protection. Ask which are included in your program, and whether you can drop the ones you don't need.
Switching and renewals	Bulk CSV invites move merchants over at their renewal dates. From then on, annual renewals carry the prior year's answers forward.	Can we export every merchant's status, SAQ type, AoC and validation dates as CSV? What do our contract's notice and data-return terms say?

The full list of criteria is in our guide to choosing a merchant PCI compliance program.

Where Compliance Assessment Tool fits

CAT is a PCI DSS compliance engine for ISOs, acquirers and PayFacs, under your brand. Each merchant describes how they take payments; AI picks the right SAQ for each payment method (all nine merchant SAQs under PCI DSS v4.0.1), and every question is written in plain English for that business and payment method, with each answer shaping the next. The merchant reviews and confirms every answer, signs digitally, and gets the official PCI SSC SAQ and AoC, filled in. You launch through a white-label portal, an embeddable iframe, the REST API or an MCP server, and see your whole portfolio through a portfolio API, CSV export and signed webhooks. Annual renewals carry prior answers forward. Pricing is $25 per completed assessment.

When CAT is not the better fit: If you want one provider to bundle ASV scanning, merchant support and add-on protection services with the SAQ under a single contract, that is what Aperia Compliance's PCI Apply lists and CAT does not do. You can also pair CAT with a scanning vendor.

Switching from Aperia Compliance

You don't have to move every merchant at once. Most of the work is lining up each merchant's move with its renewal date.

1. Read your current contract. Note the term, the notice period, the renewal date and what it says about returning your data.
2. Export your merchant list. For each merchant: merchant ID, legal and DBA name, contact email, payment channels, SAQ type, AoC date and validation expiry. A CSV is enough.
3. Keep existing AoCs valid until they expire. A merchant that validated last quarter does not need to start again. Keep its SAQ and AoC on file, and move it at its next annual renewal.
4. Re-validate at renewal. Invite merchants to CAT in renewal-date cohorts with a bulk CSV invite and branded emails, or build it into your portal with the iframe or API. Their next renewal on CAT carries this year's answers forward.
5. Board new merchants on CAT from day one, so the old program only has to cover merchants until their renewal.
6. Keep scanning covered. Merchants whose SAQ requires quarterly ASV scans still need them; keep your scanning vendor or choose one.
7. Tell your sponsor bank or acquirer, and agree how portfolio reporting will look during the overlap. CAT's CSV export and portfolio API cover the merchants it handles.
8. Update merchant communications and billing, including any program or non-compliance fee wording in your merchant agreement.

Common questions

Is Aperia Compliance part of IXOPAY?

IXOPAY's website describes Aperia Compliance as "an IXOPAY Company" and hosts an acquirer compliance page for it, while Aperia Compliance also runs its own website. Your contract names the entity that provides your program.

Is Compliance Assessment Tool affiliated with Aperia Compliance or IXOPAY?

No. Compliance Assessment Tool is an independent company with no affiliation with, or endorsement from, Aperia Compliance or IXOPAY. Both names, and PCI Apply, are trademarks of their owners.

Does CAT include ASV scans and merchant support, as PCI Apply does?

No. Aperia Compliance lists integrated ASV scanning and U.S.-based Compliance Center support for merchants as part of PCI Apply. CAT does not provide scanning or a merchant call center: it handles SAQ selection, the plain-English assessment and the signed SAQ and AoC. If your merchants' SAQs require quarterly external scans, pair CAT with an Approved Scanning Vendor.

How does CAT's pricing compare with Aperia Compliance?

CAT costs $25 per completed assessment, with a free sandbox. We do not publish other vendors' pricing; ask Aperia Compliance for a quote covering the same scope (merchant count, scans, support, add-on services and branding) so you compare like with like.

Do merchants have to redo their SAQ when we change PCI vendors?

Not straight away. A merchant's current SAQ and Attestation of Compliance cover its current validation year, whichever tool produced them. The usual approach is to keep each AoC on file until it expires and move that merchant to the new program at its next annual renewal. Your acquirer sets the validation requirements, so confirm the plan with them.

Can we try Compliance Assessment Tool before we switch?

Yes. Sandbox credentials are free and issued as soon as you verify your email, and the sandbox runs the same API and engine as production. Run your own merchants' descriptions of how they take payments through it and compare the questions and documents side by side.

Also compared: SecurityMetrics alternative · ControlScan alternative · VikingCloud alternative · Trustwave PCI alternative · all PCI program alternatives

Sources

• Aperia Compliance: home page
• Aperia Compliance: PCI Apply
• Aperia Compliance: About us
• IXOPAY: Acquirer-focused compliance, powered by Aperia Compliance

Checked in November 2026.

Aperia Compliance, PCI Apply and IXOPAY are trademarks of their owners. Compliance Assessment Tool is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them, and names them only to describe their published offerings. Descriptions of other companies come from their own websites as of November 2026 and may have changed; confirm details with each vendor. Compliance Assessment Tool facilitates merchant PCI DSS self-assessment. It is not a Qualified Security Assessor and does not certify compliance; acquirers set each merchant's validation requirements.