Routing
Payment orchestration
A platform layer that lets a merchant connect to multiple acquirers, APMs, and risk tools through one integration and route transactions intelligently.
Payment orchestration acts as a technical middleware layer that decouples a merchant's front-end checkout from specific backend financial infrastructure. By integrating with a Payment Orchestration Provider (POP), businesses can access a network of multiple acquirers, payment service providers (PSPs), and alternative payment methods (APMs) through a single API. The platform typically employs a rules-based engine to facilitate smart routing, which directs transactions to the most appropriate gateway based on criteria such as interchange fees, geographic mapping, or historical issuer approval rates. Many orchestrators also incorporate independent 3D Secure (3DS) and fraud screening tools to ensure PSD2 compliance while maintaining an agnostic stance towards the final destination of the payment. It is important to note that while the orchestrator manages the data flow, the actual settlement of funds remains the responsibility of the underlying acquirer or processor, and the merchant must still maintain a Merchant Identification Number (MID) with each entity.
Frequently asked
How does payment orchestration improve authorisation rates?
Orchestration platforms use dynamic routing to send transactions to the acquirer most likely to approve them, often a local bank in the customer's region. If a transaction fails due to technical downtime at a specific gateway, the orchestrator can automatically failover to a secondary processor to recover the sale.
Does using a payment orchestrator reduce PCI DSS compliance requirements?
Most orchestrators provide vaulted tokenization services that ensure sensitive card data never touches the merchant's server, which can reduce the scope of PCI DSS audits. However, the merchant is still responsible for ensuring that the orchestrator itself is PCI Level 1 compliant and that their own integration methods meet required security standards.
Related terms
Algorithmic selection of an acquirer or MID per transaction to maximise approval rate, minimise cost, or both.
A vendor that provides payment-acceptance technology, gateway, vaulting, reporting, sometimes acquiring, under one contract.
The licensed bank or financial institution that holds the merchant's MID and settles card transactions on the merchant's behalf.
Any non-card payment method, wallets, bank transfers, BNPL, vouchers, accepted at checkout.
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