Guide to evaluating payment orchestration solutions

GuideToEvaluatingPaymentOrchestrationSolutions Contents Introduction3 Introduction Paymentorchestrationreferstotheprocessofmanagingandoptimizingvariouspaymentmethods,providers,andprocesseswithin abusinessororganization.Itinvolvesconsolidatingandstreamliningpaymentoperations,enabling businessestooffermultiplepaymentoptionstotheircustomerswhileensuringsmoothandefficientpaymentacceptanceandprocessing. PaymentOrchestrationPlatforms(POPs)actasanintermediarybetweenmerchantsand paymentserviceproviders(PSPs),aggregators,acquirers,andotherrelevantpartiesinvolvedinthepaymentecosystem.POPsaimtooffer aunifiedinterfaceandsetoftoolsthatallowmerchantstointegrateandmanagedifferentpaymentmethods,suchascreditcards,digital wallets,banktransfers,andAlternativePaymentMethods(APMs)suchasBuyNow,PayLater(BNPL)providers. Byusingpaymentorchestration,businessescanovercomethecomplexitiesassociatedwithintegratingandmaintainingmultiplepaymentproviders.Theygainaccesstoasinglepointofintegrationandmanagement,simplifyingtheprocessofadding,configuring,andmaintainingdifferentpaymentoptions.Byadoptingpaymentorchestration,businessescanimprovethecustomerpaymentexperience,increase conversionrates,reducecosts,andstreamlinepaymentoperations.Itenablesthemtoadapttochangingmarkettrendsandcustomer preferenceswhilemaintainingcontrolandflexibilityovertheirpaymentprocesses. Paymentorchestrationisahottopicforbusinessesandmerchantswishingtooptimizepaymentacceptanceandpaymentprocessing. PaymentOrchestrationPlatforms(POPs)areanewbreedofmiddlewarefintechcompanieswhoconnecttomultiplePaymentServiceProviders(PSPs),paymentgateways,fraudpreventiontechnologies,eCommerceplatformsandacquirers.Thisguideoutlinesanapproachtoevaluatedifferentpaymentorchestrationsolutions.Itdoesnotignorethefullstackacquirersorotherpaymenttechnologyprovidersthathaveincorporatedpaymentorchestrationintotheirmulti-acquirerofferingasthisguideisequallyapplicableforthenon-pureplayPOPproviders. Paymentorchestrationcanbeperformedbymerchantswithanin-housesolutionorbyanoff-the-shelfsolutionorbya merchant’sownpaymentservicesprovider,acquirer,orpaymentgateway.APaymentOrchestrationPlatformshouldenable merchantstotakecontrolofpaymentacceptance,fromcheckoutthroughtothesettlementoffundsintothe merchant’sbankaccount,andtostaycompetitiveandagileintheconstantlyevolvingpaymentslandscape. InApril2021EDCcreatedanintroductiontopaymentorchestrationwhich wasupdatedinMarch2022. Thisguidegoesbeyondanintroductiontopaymentorchestration. Thisguideispackedwithindependentexpertadviceandrecommendationswhichshouldbeconsideredwhenintegratingpaymentorchestrationintoyourbusiness. Thisdocumentcontainsenhancedthoughtleadershipaboutthepaymentorchestrationmarket,itdrawstogetherourexperienceandlearningsfromacrossEDCtoactasaguidetoevaluatingpaymentorchestrationsolutions. 01 BeforePaymentOrchestration GuideToEvaluatingPaymentOrchestrationSolutions 01Beforepaymentorchestration BeforePaymentOrchestration Beforepaymentorchestrationmerchants builtandmaintainedmultipleconnectionstopaymentproviders,gateways,acquirersandAPMs.Asbusinessesgrow,bothorganically andinorganically,ande-commerceshoppinggrewinpopularity,theserelationshipsbecame increasinglycomplex,whichcreatedaneedforpaymentorchestration. PSPGateway Acquirer PSPGateway Merchant Acquirer APM Acquirer APM PSPGateway Acquirer PSPGateway AprimaryobjectiveofPaymentOrchestration Simplification GuideToEvaluatingPaymentOrchestrationSolutions6 02 WhatdoesPayments Orchestrationlooklike? GuideToEvaluatingPaymentOrchestrationSolutions WhatdoesPaymentsOrchestrationlooklike? ThePaymentsOrchestrationPlatform(POP)orPaymentsOrchestrationLayer(POL)actsasatechnicalmiddlelayerconnectingthemerchanttomultiplepaymentproviders,gateways,acquirers andAPMs. Thepaymentorchestrationsolutionshouldatleastdeterminehowbesttorouteapaymenttransactionfromthemerchant’scheckoutthroughtobanksettlement,increasingtheconversionandthereforemaximisingthemerchant’srevenue. PSPGateway Acquirer PSPGateway Merchant Acquirer PaymentsOrchestrationPlatform APM CheckoutRoutingSettlement Acquirer APM PSPGateway Acquirer PSPGateway Thereareatleastthreecoreserviceelementsofapaymentorchestrationsolution–eachcanbe furtherbrokendownintodifferentserviceofferings. Merchant PaymentsOrchestrationPlatform Checkout Routing Settlement CheckoutFrictionlesscheckoutexperiencefor theconsumer Routing Dynamicorsmartroutingofpaymenttransactions Settlement Disbursementoffundsfromthepaymentserviceproviders tomerchant's bankaccount AdditionalPOPserviceofferingscaninclude: •Tokenization(&TokenVault) •ApplicationProgrammingInterface(API) •Omnichannelsupport •FraudPrevention •Reconciliation •Reporting •Dashboard •Alerts 02WhatdoesPaymentsOrchestrationlooklike? Checkout PaymentsOrchestrationPlatform Checkout Routing Settlement Thecheckoutstageplaysacrucialroleinfacilitatingasmoothandsecurepaymentprocessforcustomersbothonlineandoffline.ThereareseveralkeyobjectivesassociatedwithusingaPOPforthecheckoutphase: •RelevantPaymentMethod