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gives merchants better control over compliance and con-
version, while laying the groundwork for more advanced
Why payment orchestration matters payment orchestration strategies. For many, starting with
Payment orchestration is a unified technology layer a modular, external solution proved far more practical
that connects multiple payment providers, acquirers, than maintaining bespoke infrastructure.
and methods through a single integration. It allows Supporting sustainable relationships
businesses to manage payment flows intelligently—
routing transactions, applying business logic, and Payment orchestration is more than simply a technical
adapting in real time without depending on a single layer. It’s also changing the way commercial relationships
provider or maintaining custom code for each con- work. By sitting independently, payment orchestration en-
nection. ables merchants to retain choice and flexibility. But it also
allows payment providers to retain volume by support-
As commerce expands across borders and channels, ing the features their customers want without needing to
traditional one-to-one provider setups no longer meet build everything in-house.
the demands of modern merchants. Payment orches-
tration solves this by offering flexibility, control, and For acquirers, this can be a way to win business that might
efficiency. otherwise go to a more feature-rich competitor. For PSPs,
it can be a route to offering broader capabilities through
Key Advantages partnership. For everyone, it’s a chance to deliver better
Following are key advantages to payment outcomes without engaging in a race to the bottom on
orchestration: pricing. There is a mindset shift underway. Payment or-
chestration is no longer about disruption. It’s about en-
• Resilience and redundancy: Automatically re- ablement and optimization.
route transactions if a primary provider fails, en-
suring continuous service and reducing revenue The payoff for moving early
loss during outages.
• Faster market entry: Launch in new regions While adoption is now accelerating, those who moved first
have had the most time to build a competitive edge. They
quickly using pre-integrated local acquirers and weren’t just patching over weak points; they were rethink-
alternative payment methods without rebuild- ing how payments should work as their businesses scaled.
ing your stack. That early investment is now showing results. These mer-
• mproved conversion: Use intelligent routing chants have had the freedom to experiment, refine their
to maximize approval rates by matching each routing strategies and embed orchestration into their long-
transaction with the best-performing provider term plans. They’re launching in new markets faster, han-
based on criteria like geography, card type, or dling provider outages with minimal disruption and stay-
time of day. ing ahead of compliance changes with less effort.
• Tokenization control: Apply and manage net-
work or provider-specific tokens centrally, Rather than retrofitting payment orchestration into exist-
ing systems, they’re making it part of how they operate.
boosting compliance and streamlining updates
across your ecosystem. That’s given them greater control and agility in an envi-
ronment that continues to change rapidly. In some cases,
• Scalability: Add capabilities incrementally— these early adopters are now moving away from their
such as fallback routing, localized payments, or original orchestration partners, where there’s no longer a
customized checkout—without disrupting core good fit, but they can make that move knowing exactly
systems. what they need (and don’t need) for their business as it
• Better data and analytics: Gain cross-provider moves forward.
visibility with unified reporting to analyze per-
formance, optimize routes, and make data-driv- As payment orchestration becomes more widespread, it’s
en decisions. changing expectations across the payments landscape.
• Enhanced relationships: Orchestration gives What was once seen as a fringe innovation is now some-
thing merchants increasingly expect from their providers.
merchants more leverage and optionality while And what used to be considered advanced is quickly be-
enabling acquirers and PSPs to offer broader ser- coming table stakes. That’s why timing matters. The busi-
vices without a full tech overhaul. nesses that took the leap early are now leading the way.
They’re not adapting to payment orchestration; they’re de-
fining what comes next.
Tokenization, in particular, has become a common entry
point. With schemes pushing for greater use of network
tokens, payment orchestration offers a way to apply token Tom Voaden is vice president of commercial at BR-DGE. Contact him at
logic consistently across providers and token types. This tvoaden@yahoo.co.uk.
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