What is Payment Orchestration and why it's growing in Fintech?

Payment orchestration platforms are becoming an essential part of the fintech world, giving businesses a smarter way to manage multiple payment service providers (PSPs), gateways, and security measures—all through a single platform.

These platforms simplify and optimize payment routing for all types of transactions—whether domestic or cross-border—ensuring a seamless payment flow from start to finish. With the complexity of global payments and diverse transaction types, orchestration platforms provide the critical flexibility and efficiency businesses need to operate smoothly. Major players driving innovation in this space include:

• Europe: Paydock, Primer, Checkout.com, Rapyd, Fabrick
• North America: Spreedly, Gr4vy
• Asia-Pacific: Paydock
• Latin America: Yuno

So, how Payment Orchestration works?

Payment orchestration platforms act as intermediaries between merchants and PSPs, banks, and payment gateways, handling the entire process from authorization to settlement. Here’s a simplified flow of how it works:

1. Customer places an order on the merchant’s website.
2. The payment request is routed to the orchestrator.
3. The orchestrator selects the most optimal payment gateway or PSP based on factors like cost, location, and availability.
4. The transaction is processed and authorized by the PSP.
5. Funds are transferred directly to the merchant, completing the process.

The orchestrator also provides additional features like fraud detection, currency conversion, and PCI compliance. Payment orchestrators use tokenization and ensure PCI compliance, protecting sensitive payment information and reducing security risks. This not only secures transactions but also ensures compliance with global standards, minimizing the liability of businesses.

By using these platforms, businesses reduce time spent managing payments, improve operational efficiency, and minimize the risk of failed transactions.

Payment Orchestrators vs. Payment Gateways vs. Payment Service Providers (PSPs)

There is often confusion between Payment Gateways, Payment Service Providers (PSPs), and Payment Orchestrators, but they play distinct roles within the payment ecosystem:

Payment Gateways

These serve as the intermediary between the merchant and their acquiring bank, transmitting transaction information securely and ensuring the transaction’s authorization. A gateway primarily handles communication between the customer and the acquiring bank, enabling the transaction to proceed but limited to that specific payment channel.

Payment Service Providers (PSPs)

These take it a step further by offering multiple payment methods through a single service. PSPs provide access to various payment options, such as credit cards, digital wallets, and even alternative methods like bank transfers, all through one contract. PSPs typically simplify the connection between merchants and acquiring banks but focus more onexecuting payments rather than optimizing them across multiple providers.

Payment Orchestrators

These provide a broader level of management by integrating multiple gateways and PSPs. They handle the entire payment process—from routing transactions through the optimal provider to managing security, compliance, and fraud detection.

Unlike PSPs or gateways, orchestrators offer advanced features such as dynamic transaction routing, allowing merchants to switch between providers based on factors like cost, location, and performance. They also centralize all payment services into one platform, providing merchants with a single point of control over their payment flows, analytics, and compliance management.

Success Story: Vangwe & Paydock

One standout example of payment orchestration is our partnership with Paydock, a leading Payment Orchestration Platform. Over the past four years, Vangwe has worked hand in hand with Paydock to enhance their capabilities in managing various payment gateways and optimizing their payment processes.

When Paydock sought a fintech partner with the technical know-how to integrate payment gateways, wallets, and security services into their platform, Vangwe stepped in to assist. Our team began by integrating over 30 payment gateways and has continued to provide continuous product development, manage tokenization, and oversee defect management since then.

This collaboration has allowed us to contribute to significant advancements in Paydock's offerings, such as improvements in 3DS, 3DS2, and tokenization with Mastercard, as well as seamless integrations with Apple Pay and Google Pay. As a result, we helped create a streamlined and flexible payment platform that can easily scale to meet the needs of Paydock's global customer base.

Our long-term partnership with Paydock underscores the vital importance of choosing a reliable payment orchestrator capable of efficiently managing complex transactions. This relationship not only drives growth for Paydock but also highlights our commitment to success in the fintech landscape.

Why Payment Orchestration is growing

As the global economy becomes more interconnected, the need for multi-currency and cross-border payment solutions has surged. Payment orchestration platforms offer businesses the flexibility to adapt to these changes, providing the tools to switch between PSPs, manage payment gateways, and ensure security in transactions.

The future of payments is all about efficiency, flexibility, and global reach. Payment orchestration platforms like Paydock, Primer, Spreedly and Gr4vy, will continue to play an integral role in helping businesses manage their payment operations and grow in a competitive marketplace.