Key Considerations for KSA Businesses Adopting Payment Orchestration

In 2023, Fintech in Saudi Arabia was estimated to have a market size of USD 39.04 million. By 2028, it is likely to shoot up to USD 69.23 million. This upward trend is driving the increased adoption of digital payments too. In fact, KSA witnessed a sharp uptick in digital transactions in 2022 (valued at SR1.6 trillion) from 2021 (valued at SR6 billion). And with the country’s ecommerce revenue poised to grow at an 11.08% rate from now till 2029, digital transactions will be more widespread than ever. In such a futuristic environment, adopting payment orchestration is the way to go for merchants like you. Read on to know why and how you can pick the right platform.

Why Do You Need Payment Orchestration?

Fast, secure, and efficient digital payment is the key to a smooth checkout experience. And with omnichannel payments on the rise, you need to manage and track all transactions in one place while minimizing operational expenses. Payment orchestration platforms can help you with that. Such a platform offers a unified software layer that brings together multiple banks, acquirers, payment service providers, gateways, and fraud detection services.

From the validation of payment requests to their routing to fund settlement, Saudi Arabian payment orchestration platforms automate and handle everything end-to-end. Since you get to leverage a single platform to connect with different payment processing solutions, you can enable multiple payment methods, scale and expand easily, and enhance customer satisfaction.

Considerations While Adopting Payment Orchestration

While there are various payment orchestration providers in Saudi Arabia, zeroing in on the right one requires you to consider the following:

1. Transaction routing: Go for a platform that offers a high payment acceptance rate. It should be able to route every transaction as efficiently and speedily as possible to the right processor, to simplify checkout and boost conversions.
2. Integration: The right orchestration platform will simplify payment gateway integration, no matter how many gateways are involved. The platform itself will be easy to integrate with your current and prospective payment or business systems.
3. Customization: Since every business has distinct needs, choose a platform that aligns with yours closely. It should comply with the standards of the industry in which you operate. You should be able to optimize your payment flow for risk, performance, and cost by accessing suitable tools. A platform with an intuitive user experience can also help you build, tweak, and duplicate payment workflows.
4. Performance: Ensure the orchestration platform is capable of handling your present transaction volume without bottlenecks. It should be scalable enough to handle future volumes easily. Ask if the platform has Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning capabilities to boost performance and revenue.
5. Payment methods: It is important to offer your customers ample choice and flexibility in ecommerce payment solutions. It helps in building trust and improves your brand’s value. So, check if the orchestration platform offers the payment methods preferred by your customers. You should also be able to add more methods (including international ones) in the future if required.
6. Currency support: If you are planning to expand to new geographies, you should be able to accept the local currencies of different countries. In that case, opt for a platform that supports multiple currencies and ensures hassle-free exchange. It is also easy to establish brand presence and grow the customer base when people in other countries get to pay in a currency with which they are familiar.
7. Security: Protecting sensitive customer and transaction data is essential if you want to thrive as an online business. So, before picking a Saudi Arabian payment orchestration platform, make sure it is PCI-DSS compliant and has robust measures against data breaches and cyberattacks. This will help you minimize chargebacks.
8. Data analytics: Besides offering complete visibility into your payment system, the platform should allow you to analyze data in different ways, apply various filters, and visualize trends and patterns with charts. It should generate data-backed reports that help you make informed decisions and identify your payment system’s strengths and weaknesses.
9. Pricing: Choose a payment orchestration platform that fits your budget or is competitively priced. The different aspects of its pricing model should be transparent and you should know how the model will change as your business grows. Transaction fees should be affordable too.
10. Support: The digital payment landscape is evolving constantly, so you need a payment orchestration provider who can offer expert handholding when you are just getting started. Even when you get used to the platform, support should be readily available whether you experience sudden technical glitches or have questions related to performance, payment modes, processors, etc.

Get Ready to Orchestrate Payments

Besides keeping the above considerations in mind, research and compare multiple payment orchestration platforms before making a choice. Talk to other merchants in the same industry to seek suggestions and understand their experience. Going through reviews and testimonials of different providers will give you a fair idea about each of them too. Make sure to test any platform you like through a demo session, so you can gauge its suitability for your business. In KSA, opting for a reputed orchestration platform provider like PayTabs can also make your life easy and eliminate the pain of research and uncertainty.