Onboarding Friction with Tier-2 Payment Processors for Specialty Goods

We've been seeing a significant uptick in KyC/AML hurdles when trying to integrate with some of the mid-tier payment processors for what they consider 'higher risk' categories, even when our chargeback rates are well below industry averages. The usual suspects for standard retail are fine, but as soon as we pivot to niche products like collectible art or high-value, bespoke items, the underwriting process becomes a black box of additional documentation requests and seemingly arbitrary delays. It's not the first-tier banks or major PSPs where we hit this, but rather the ones offering more tailored solutions for smaller volumes. Anyone else experiencing this disproportionate friction, particularly around the time-to-live after initial approval, and how are you managing it without just accepting longer onboarding cycles?