A digital intermediary is a third-party service that connects businesses and customers for activities such as discovery, communication, booking, or payment. Search and map services, marketplaces, booking platforms, and payment providers can all serve this role.
Intermediaries can make transactions easier, but they may also control important parts of the customer journey, including business visibility, account access, and transaction flows. This creates operational and security risks if an account is compromised, listing details or payment links are changed, or a platform becomes unavailable. Businesses can reduce reliance on any single service by securing accounts with strong authentication, reviewing profile and integration settings, maintaining recovery procedures, and offering a direct channel to customers.