A fuss-free, fast, and safe payment experience is a key part of what makes an online business thrive in the Middle East. After all, when it comes to money, no one wants to take unnecessary risks or put up with a digital experience that causes more friction and trouble than ease. A smooth payment and checkout process helps both merchants and customers by improving flexibility, transparency, trust, and efficiency. However, myriad online payment gateways, processors, service providers, and networks can make it tricky for you to manage and coordinate them all as a business owner. Luckily, payment orchestration can step in here and streamline and optimize the overall payment experience. A well-rounded orchestration platform like PayTabs can boost the acceptance rate for payments, handle multiple payment options and routes easily, ensure complete compliance with regulations, and minimize transaction costs as well.

The right payment orchestration platform can especially help if you are looking to scale fast in the Middle Eastern region or spread your wings in other countries without setting up brick-and-mortar stores. But before you get onboard, it is important for you to know about the three key aspects of payment orchestration – Connect, Manage, and Optimize.

Connect

Globalization has brought different geographies, cultures, and people together like never before. So, there is no doubt that the time is ripe for expanding the customer base and tapping new markets. However, it is essential to tailor your offerings and options based on local customs, trends, or preferences. In other words, if you are doing business in a new country, you would want shoppers to feel comfortable and safe enough while making payments. This will lead to more conversions. Here’s how a robust payment orchestration platform can come to your aid:

• You can enjoy access to a wide array of payment service providers, and choose based on the services and features they offer as well as their charges. You won’t have to worry about complex payment integration strategies or integrating with every provider you like separately. A large pool of providers will also allow you to negotiate rates better and maintain bigger profit margins on every transaction.
• You can make the payment experience user-centric by enabling customers to pay in their local currency and pick from methods that are familiar to them. This will build their confidence and encourage them to keep coming back for repeat purchases. If shopping from you is easy, they will recommend your brand to others too.

• The orchestration platform efficiently prevents frauds and detects suspicious or malicious activities, in line with local regulations. Leading platforms feature the latest security measures, like tokenization, to perfectly encrypt customer data and eliminate the scope of misuse even if a hacker gets their hands on the same. This translates to peace of mind for both merchants like you and shoppers, enhancing your credibility as an international business.

Manage

To achieve payment processing efficiency, it is not enough to have access to the best tools. You also need to manage them well, so that you have better control over the payment and checkout experience. Moreover, since every business has distinct needs and goals, managing various aspects of payment can look different for different entities.

With the right payment orchestration platform, things become simple:

• You can quickly connect to any payment service provider you want without coding or getting technical. Platforms like PayTabs allow you to manage payouts, subscriptions, refunds and more on a unified dashboard, which saves your energy and helps you focus better on core business areas.
• There are plenty of filters available too, so you can customize the checkout experience for different kinds of customers. For instance, based on their location, value of sale, preferred or local currency, and other related factors, you can decide which payment service providers a particular shopper will be able to see. If a customer can find the exact payment method they are looking for, you will automatically improve the conversion rate and reduce instances of cart abandonment.

• One of the key payment orchestration benefits is that you can avail top-quality technical support whenever required. Apart from facilitating seamless merchant onboarding, orchestration platforms offer training sessions for your team and address any technical glitch you might run into later. You won’t need to get in touch with an individual payment service provider’s support center anymore, which will save time and hassle.

Optimize

Optimization is necessary to make the most of a payment system management platform. As your business evolves, the payment experience you offer will need to change or improve too. Top orchestration platforms take care of that by putting you in charge, and constantly devising and suggesting ways to enhance your revenue as well as margin. Here is how they help:

• Payment orchestration platforms routes every transaction in the most optimal way, so that it gets accepted and processed quickly. For instance, if a certain payment provider declines a payment request, the latter is automatically routed to another provider. This process can happen multiple times in just seconds, until the transaction is approved. The best part is that the customer stays completely unaware of what goes on behind the scenes, which makes it easier to retain them, improve their satisfaction, and score more sales.
• The best orchestration platforms also enable customers to split their spending across multiple payment service providers, which means more convenience, freedom, and flexibility. This especially holds true in case of big-value purchases. Customers can also opt for buy now pay later or installment payment options. All these features make like easy for even low-income demographics or young shoppers who are on a tight budget or have just started working. Your brand value and reputation also sees an uptick.
• Payment orchestration platforms also help you to generate detailed data-backed insights and reports with a few clicks, so that you can make informed decisions without burying your head in complicated calculations. You can say goodbye to stressful spreadsheets and instead download and collate as many reports as you want for strategic decision-making.
• Such platforms also help you to zero in on payment service providers and processors that are apt for your business or a particular scenario. They analyze countless transactions around the world to provide you with industry-specific data. Hence, you get to make choices that increase your sales, revenue, customer loyalty, and bottom line.

Make the Most of Payment Orchestration

Now that you know how payment orchestration platforms help you connect, manage, and optimize payments for an efficient, speedy, and secure experience, get ready to choose one. Research well and compare different platforms in terms of services, features, and cost structures. Check if the team is qualified and experienced enough to handle any problems you might face along the road, depending on your industry, nature and size of the business, challenges, and objectives. Go through reviews and request demos before taking a call.

The term payment orchestration has been doing the rounds in Middle East’s ecommerce landscape for some time now. So, what is it? Much like the orchestra you are familiar with, where a large group of musicians come together to play a variety of instruments, led by a conductor. A payment orchestration platform enhances the overall payment experience for your customers while minimizing costs and improving efficiency. It involves the management and coordination of multiple payment methods, services, gateways, service providers, networks, and processors in an automated and systematic manner. This ensures the security and seamlessness of every transaction.

Read on to know more about why modern merchants like you need payment orchestration for transaction processes, how to choose the right platform for your venture, and the things you need to keep in mind while offering orchestration services to customers.

Why Embrace Payment Orchestration?

By next year, Middle East’s ecommerce sector is expected to reach an impressive market volume of USD 50 billion. Most businesses, whether they are established or new, are joining the digital bandwagon to reach a larger base of target audience, especially millennials and Gen Z customers. So, to stay competitive, you not only need an attractive and easy-to-navigate online store as well as quality products, but also a smooth checkout process. The kind of last mile delivery you offer customers can make or break your brand. So, not only do you need to offer customers various payment options, you must make sure that all transactions happen fast and no sensitive data gets compromised.

Payment optimization through orchestration can help you with exactly that and more. It can route every payment request via the best possible channel, so that the chance of failure or non-acceptance is minimal. Moreover, if you intend to foray into new markets or geographies or you are already an international player, payment orchestration can help you align with regional regulations and distinct customer preferences. An orchestration platform can handle large transaction volumes too. So, how to pick one from the myriad options available out there?

How to Select the Ideal Payment Orchestration Platform?

Here is what you need to keep in mind while picking a platform to suit your business’s needs and goals.

• Conduct a Proper Assessment

Before choosing a payment orchestration or transaction management platform, check which payment channels and methods it supports. Channels might include in-store, online, and mobile, while methods might include digital wallets, debit and credit cards, internet banking, and alternative payment modes. Make sure there are plenty of options, to cater to different demographics and regions. The platform should also offer a smooth onboarding process for merchants like you.

• Focus on Security and Scalability

The payment orchestration platform must satisfy the latest security standards and comply with both local and international regulations, depending on where you want to grow your business. It should be able to detect and prevent different kinds of frauds and alert you about the same. The platform should be flexible enough to align with new market trends and scalable as well. Find out if it has ample options for customization and enhancements.

• Check Integration Capabilities

The platform should be easy to integrate with your ecommerce website, mobile application, other software solutions, and point of sale. You should be able to connect with multiple online payment gateways, service providers, processors, and so on. Proper payment integration will help you provide a glitch-free experience to customers anywhere in the world.

• Assess Currency Support

If you plan to expand your business in other countries, find out if the orchestration platform supports payments in multiple currencies. Since customers anywhere prefer to make payments in their local currencies, giving them that option will win you trust and brownie points. There should be an efficient currency exchange system in place too, and the platform should be compliant with local laws.

• Find Out About Analytics Capabilities

While choosing a platform for orchestrated payment processing, check if they offer in-depth analytics reports on your payment ecosystem. Various tools and dashboards should be available to help you review transactions, cash flow, revenue, etc. Using data intelligently can help you obtain valuable insights, spot inefficiencies or gaps in the current payment system, make improvements wherever possible, and take more strategic decisions in the future.

• Look into Reliability and Reputation

Go through reviews and testimonials to understand the dependability and robustness of the orchestration platform. Talk to other businesses that use the platform, if possible. Also enquire about the customer support they provide, if their team is easily reachable during a crisis, and if they offer training sessions.

• Go for a Trial

Before getting onboard with payment orchestration for transaction processes, it is important to examine the features and functionalities of an orchestration platform before taking a decision. So, request for a trial or demo run to see how the platform would perform in the real world. Watch out for downtime, since you might lose potential customers if the platform is not available or operational for long or frequently.

• Consider the Pricing Model

Ask if the platform provider will be charging you a percentage of the total transaction volume or a fixed fee. Keep your business model in mind and how you expect your transaction volume to increase while gauging the aptness of the pricing structure.

• Check Terms and Conditions

Before signing the dotted line on the contract, check the fine print carefully and go through cancellation policies and fees. The contract should also mention what happens in case your business model or goals change or if the provider fails to deliver as promised.

Get Ready to Transform Transaction Processes

Now that you know why a payment orchestration platform is important and how to select one that aligns with your business, get started with some thorough research. Take your time to go through provider websites to understand their offerings, rate structures, benefits, and more. Shortlist and talk to them to discuss your specific needs and objectives. Compare both in terms of services and costs to arrive at an informed decision. The right platform can augment transaction efficiency and take your customer’s experience to a whole new level, thereby boosting your brand value, presence, and bottom line.

Picture this – a potential customer lands on your website and loves the design, layout, navigation, and of course, your products. They add a few to their cart and head to checkout. And that is where everything goes for a toss. The potential customer can’t find their preferred payment mode, are redirected to a different page to complete the transaction, or the payment processing takes too much time. Frustrated, they abandon the cart, and you lose a customer and sale. Essentially, your conversion rate takes a hit. In fact, the cart abandonment rate in the online shopping world is around 70%, with reasons ranging from complex or extra-long checkout process and website errors to lack of enough payment methods and doubts about site security. So, if you are worried as a merchant or facing similar issues, consider a payment orchestration platform to boost customer experience and increase conversions.

Such a platform helps you to consolidate and manage multiple payment gateways, methods, and providers in various markets in a centralized manner. From collecting and encrypting payment information to routing the same to the right processor and handling authorization and fund settlement, a payment orchestration solution does it all. The absence of manual intervention and separate integrations with different payment providers also means minimal errors and a more efficient, faster, and safer payment process. Now, let’s find out how payment orchestration nudges potential shoppers from the consideration to the purchase stage.

Boosting Conversions with Payment Orchestration is Easy

Payment orchestration can give you better control over the last mile of the buyer’s journey, reduce friction, and simplify checkout. Your chance of converting site visitors into paying customers shoots up due to the following:

• Better Acceptance Rates

A key reason why it is possible to achieve more conversions with payment orchestration is that every transaction gets routed to the most suitable payment processor automatically after a customer chooses a payment method and enters details. The routing usually happens based on historical transactions, user location, and currency used. If one processor is unable to authorize the payment request, the orchestration platform reroutes the latter to another processor. This automated repeated trial process lowers the possibility of false declines and boosts the acceptance rate. Naturally, conversion rate also goes up.

• More Options for Customers

When you use a payment orchestration platform, you can offer customers the freedom to choose from multiple payment methods, including digital wallets, debit and credit cards, internet banking, and payment links in UAE. This can encourage them to go ahead with the transaction and improve your brand image in their mind. Card abandonment rate will decline, as customer satisfaction increases. Not only will this boost conversions, but also promote repeat purchases and loyalty in the long run.

• Improved Scalability

If you are planning to expand beyond the UAE, venture into new markets, or explore the potential of untapped demographics, payment orchestration can give you the right push. It can help you accept payments in multiple currencies, which means customers in different countries can comfortably pay in their local currencies. You can also provide them localized payment methods they are already familiar with besides new ones, thereby increasing flexibility during checkout. In other words, orchestration can help you keep up with varied and changing customer preferences and demands, which means more conversions and a bigger customer base. You can grow fast and with the least possible resistance even in remote corners of the world.

• Stronger Security

Payment orchestration for higher conversion rates also works because such a platform is packed with advanced security mechanisms to prevent frauds and cyberattacks. It will be compliant with PCI-DSS and other industry standards and use measures like tokenization, fingerprinting, and 3D Secure authentication methods to fight identity theft, phishing, chargeback fraud etc. Usually, top orchestration platforms such as PayTabs leverage AI and machine learning tools to strengthen security during checkout. And when customers are convinced about the safety of your website, they will be more likely to convert.

• Superior Analytics

Using a payment orchestration platform means you will have your hands on real-time data associated with consumer behaviors, trends in payments, and suspicious or unusual activities. You will not only gain better visibility into everything transaction-related, but also get a clear idea about the performance and cost-effectiveness of every payment service provider. You can figure out which processors authorize more transactions and which ones are responsible for more chargebacks. This will help you compare multiple service providers, negotiate more lucrative terms with them, detect gaps in the payment process, and even identify opportunities to enhance the customer experience. In other words, powerful data analytics and insightful reports can help you take smarter decisions for the buyer journey.

Also Read: How To Fight Ecommerce Fraud With Payment Orchestration ?

Be Careful About Selecting a Payment Orchestration Platform

Now that you realize how payment orchestration and conversion rate optimization go hand-in-hand, it’s time to choose a platform that aligns well with your business and helps you get more paying customers. Not all platforms have the same features or capabilities, so compare their services, fees, and reviews before taking a call. Check whether they have in-depth data analytics prowess, robust security protocols, and ask about their range in terms of payment gateways, methods, and currencies. Or to be on the safe side and invest in a platform that can boost conversions from the get-go, opt for PayTabs.

As an ecommerce business owner, you surely understand the importance of offering customers a smooth, simple, safe, and quick checkout experience. It is much like leading a flawless orchestra performance. Surprised? Well, you see, just like a conductor must guide different kinds of instrumentalists seamlessly to create soulful music, your business must be able to connect and handle every single aspect of the payment process, from authorization and transaction routing to settlement. An ecommerce payment orchestration platform helps you do exactly that, by bringing multiple payment processors and methods together, enabling you to accept payments in multiple currencies, and ensuring compliance with necessary regulations around the world. Most importantly, you can manage it all from a single website.

In other words, the role of payment orchestration goes much beyond the identification of the best possible path for a transaction to go through safely and efficiently. It reduces instances of failed transactions as well as processing time and cost, thereby improving customer satisfaction. In the long run, this translates to repeat purchases, enhanced loyalty, and greater revenue. So, let’s dive a little deeper into payment orchestration and the ways in which it benefits your online business.

Steps in Payment Orchestration

Whether you are new to ecommerce or running an established business, your chief intent behind using payment orchestration is to increase the volume of authorized transactions and eliminate dependence on just one payment service provider. It is important to understand how it all works though:

• The shopper adds an item to their cart and heads to checkout.
• After choosing an online payment gateway, they feed relevant details into it.
• After encrypting the above information, the gateway uses the payment processor to send the data to the acquiring bank.
• The acquiring bank connects with the issuing bank after receiving the above data to verify the payment and authorize the same.
• Usually, you get a notification from the acquiring bank, whether the transaction fails or gets approved.
• However, in case of a payment failure, if you are using a payment orchestration platform, it will reroute the payment request to another processor.
• If the rerouting succeeds, the payment request is approved.

Payment Orchestration Offers Multiple Perks

 By 2025, Middle East’s ecommerce sector is expected to reach an impressive market volume worth USD 50 billion. To carve a special niche for yourself in this fast-growing landscape, you need a unique competitive edge. Creating a checkout experience that is simple, speedy, and yet immune to frauds, is one of the best ways to strengthen your position as an ecommerce player. Plus, you get to oversee all payment operations from a central dashboard and devise the best possible optimization strategies. Let’s explore more benefits in detail:

More Flexibility for Customers

One of the key benefits of payment orchestration for online businesses is that you can provide customers multiple payment modes and processors. Whether they choose to pay via internet banking, cards, or e-wallets, the probability of a transaction going through successfully increases sharply. This improves shopper experience, encouraging them to keep coming back to your site.

Lower Payment Processing Cost

Since payment orchestration routes transactions through channels with the minimum processing fees, it helps you to minimize operational expenses. You can also reduce setup charges and fees for automatic routing this way. By integrating with several payment providers, an orchestration platform allows you to bag pocket-friendly rates.

Better Rate of Conversion

When you simplify the checkout process for customers, offer them more options, and boost the chances of payment approval, the conversion rate improves. In other words, more customers complete transactions instead of abandoning their carts. This leads to more sales and better revenue numbers.

Enhanced Level of Security

An ecommerce payment orchestration platform centralizes payment data management, which means you get to use a uniform security system for all kinds of sensitive information. The best platforms, like PayTabs, ensure compliance with PCI-DSS and other industry standards as well as 3D protocols to prevent, detect, and address frauds promptly. Through robust encryption, customer authentication, and pre as well as post-payment checks, orchestration platforms can minimize chargebacks too. This helps reduce your overall cost.

Improved Scalability

Whether you want to foray into new markets, previously untapped demographics, or other countries, using a payment orchestration platform can help you do so quickly, seamlessly, and efficiently. It can help you accept payments in multiple currencies without worrying about exchange rates and offer customers diverse payment methods based on their region, habits, or preferences. It can help you to stay ahead of competitors as well.

Smarter Data Analytics

One of the key advantages of using a payment orchestration platform is that you get complete visibility into real-time data associated with customer behavior, transaction trends, suspicious activities, and so on. You can also get your hands on automatically generated reports for different payment service providers, which are shareable with other companies or financial entities. All this helps you identify both gaps and opportunities in the payment process and experience, which means you can take better business decisions.

Also Read: What is Payment Orchestration, and Why is It Essential for Any Business?

Up Your Ecommerce Game with a Payment Orchestration Platform

Now that you have a clearer understanding of the role of payment orchestration in ecommerce, conduct due diligence and research to zero in on a provider that best aligns with your needs and goals. With the right platform, you can process more payments efficiently, securely, and quickly, thereby improving customer satisfaction, sales volume, revenue, and bottom line. You will also gain a sharp competitive edge through enhanced data analytics and reporting, stronger security, and the ability to scale wherever and however you want. Payment leaders like PayTabs can especially make your life easy with tailor-made and affordable solutions.

As per a recent IBM report, businesses in the Middle East had to pay a price of SAR 29.9 million due to data breaches in 2023. In a Deloitte report from 2021, around 48% of the organizations in this region observed a rise in fraudulent activities compared to previous years and 35% felt that the pandemic was a key trigger. While online transactions skyrocketed around this time, making life easy for countless people, and helping businesses survive, there was a not-so-bright side to it all. Problems like identity theft, chargeback fraud, credit card fraud, and phishing reared their ugly heads more boldly than ever and continue to be a challenge for ecommerce merchants. However, hope comes in the form of fraud prevention through payment orchestration.

A payment orchestration platform can increase the efficiency, speed, and safety of your entire payment cycle, while enhancing the customer’s checkout experience. By bringing together different banks, payment service providers, apps, and acquirers on one platform, payment orchestration offers more options to customers, routes every transaction effectively, and settles your dues on time. You can accept multiple currencies, foray into new markets and geographies, comply with different regulations, and enjoy better visibility into your finances. Most importantly, you can detect and prevent frauds more accurately, thereby winning customer trust and loyalty. Let’s learn more about payment orchestration and how it is instrumental in securing your sensitive data.

Decoding Payment Orchestration

If you are planning to use payment orchestration for secure transactions, first understand how the technology works.

Step 1

After adding one or more items to their online shopping cart, a customer heads to the checkout page and picks a payment method from multiple options. They might also use paylinks, especially while paying for utilities or insurance premiums.

Step 2

The payment orchestration platform then collects payment details, encrypts the same, and sends it to the relevant gateway.

Step 3

To lower the chances of false declines, the orchestration platform routes the payment request to multiple processors. If one processor fails to authorize the transaction, another processor handles the request.

Step 4

Upon receiving the payment details, the acquiring bank gets in touch with the issuing bank for verification and authorization. Post payment approval, an authorization response code is sent by the acquiring bank to the gateway as well as you, the merchant.

By leveraging an intelligent routing process and numerous payment processors, the orchestration platform boosts acceptance rates, customer satisfaction, and sales, and minimizes the overall transaction cost.

Role of Payment Orchestration in Fraud Detection and Prevention

 The best payment orchestration platforms, like PayTabs, are armed with cutting-edge machine learning and artificial intelligence tools that can spot suspicious or malicious activities easily and quickly. It prevents fraudulent payments from getting processed or approved. Additionally, you can access and implement sophisticated security protocols, like the ones detailed below:

1. Tokenization

This cybersecurity technique uses a token, or a random and unique group of characters to replace sensitive payment details like credit card numbers. This means, the actual information on the card never gets stored, transmitted, or utilized. So, if someone with fraudulent intent chances upon the token, they won’t be able to use it, decode the real data, or buy products or services with the token. Though not all payment gateways come with the tokenization feature, if you use payment orchestration services, you can find and use the right gateways. This will ensure a safe and seamless checkout experience for shoppers.

2. Fingerprinting

This is another advanced technique that facilitates secure payment processing with orchestration. Also known as device fingerprinting, the process allocates an identifier to the device a user utilizes to surf an application or website. This is done based on attributes like IP address, timestamp, installed plugins, HTTP request headers, and so on. After fingerprint assigning and storing of the identifier, you can monitor a user’s online activity and behavior, just like with cookies. You can also identify a payment method and assign it a fingerprint to prevent frauds.

3. 3DS 2.0 Authentication

This is yet another mechanism that ensures fraud prevention through payment orchestration. 3D Secure is a widely-used security protocol that authenticates an online customer’s identity when they use a card to make the payment. A one-time code or password is sent to the shopper’s registered mobile number to verify the card information before the transaction can go through. However, the 3DS 1.0 version had shortcomings like poor user experience, difficulty in managing multiple passwords for different accounts, and low success rate.

Hence, the 3DS 2.0 version was launched, which makes the customer experience more streamlined and frictionless. It is powered by one-time passcodes, biometric recognition, and mobile authentication methods. Plus, it captures user and device location, your transaction history, and other details, so that issuer banks can approve or decline a transaction with better accuracy. 3DS 2.0 also makes the issuer bank responsible for chargebacks, which means you can minimize overall costs and boost profitability.

Also Read: What is Payment Orchestration, and Why is It Essential for Any Business?

Choose the Right Payment Orchestration Platform and Stay Vigilant

It is essential to avail payment orchestration services from the right provider if you want a smart fraud prevention strategy in place. So, research well and compare multiple providers, their services, charges, and reviews, before taking a decision. Ensure the platform you pick complies with the latest industry standards in payment security and ask if they can evolve fast and devise customized strategies when you scale or venture into new markets. Also go for a platform that generates insightful reports automatically, so you can track customer data and transactions periodically. This will help you identify security lapses or unusual activities on time and address the same.