Retailers, what if having multiple payment solutions could actually boost your profitability?

Accepting a payment should never be a barrier to conversion—it should be a growth accelerator. Yet many retailers still rely on a single payment service provider (PSP), thinking it simplifies their operations. This approach quickly shows its limitations: service interruptions, high fees, and suboptimal acceptance rates—all of which directly impact revenue.

By diversifying payment solutions and integrating multiple PSPs, retailers gain flexibility and performance. Cost optimization, broader geographic coverage, and fewer failed transactions—these benefits turn payment management into a powerful growth driver.

Adopting a multi-PSP strategy means regaining control over payments and improving the customer experience. So, why stick with just one?

Why relying on a single PSP may limit your business

1. Overdependence and lack of flexibility

Relying on a single PSP is like putting all your eggs in one basket. A technical failure, update issue, or simple bug can cause entire batches of transactions to fail, leading to immediate revenue loss. Without a fallback, there’s no way to reroute payments when things go wrong.

Beyond technical issues, a single PSP may also limit your ability to offer the payment methods your customers expect. Each market has its preferences: bank cards in France, PayPal in Europe, wallets like Alipay in China, and the growing popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Sticking with just one PSP means missing out on potential customers who prefer other options.

2. Hidden costs and lack of optimization

Transaction fees vary by PSP, and one provider won’t always be the most cost-effective for all your payment flows. Without the ability to compare, you might overpay without realizing it. A multi-PSP setup allows you to leverage competition and route transactions to the most cost-efficient providers based on region or cart size.

Some PSPs also charge additional fees depending on the transaction type (international cards, foreign currencies, chargebacks, etc.). A multi-PSP approach gives you better control over these costs by letting you choose providers that reduce unnecessary fees.

3. Limited ability to expand internationally

International expansion requires adapting to local payment preferences, and one PSP may not support the most popular methods in every country.

For example:

• In Germany, Sofort and Giropay are essential.
• In the Netherlands, iDEAL dominates.
• In China, Alipay and WeChat Pay are the standard.

A multi-PSP strategy makes it easier to quickly activate the right payment methods per region, without having to fully switch providers.

Also read: E-commerce: does your current payment solution truly meet your customers' expectations?

Why choose a multi-PSP strategy?

Improve acceptance rates and reduce failed payments

Every declined payment means a lost customer. And in most cases, rejections aren’t due to insufficient funds, but to technical limitations like:

• Variable acceptance rates depending on the issuing bank or card type.
• Overly strict security filters—one PSP may reject a transaction flagged (wrongly) as fraud, while another could have accepted it with stronger authentication.
• Temporary technical outages with no fallback in place.

With a multi-PSP strategy, you can set up automatic fallback systems:

• Transactions are optimized based on real-time PSP performance.
• Smart routing rules allocate payments to the PSP with the best acceptance rate for a given card type or region.

Cost optimization and improved ROI

A single PSP sets its own pricing, often without room for negotiation. Multi-PSP setups allow you to:

• Negotiate better rates by playing providers off each other.
• Route payments to the lowest-cost PSP based on payment method or currency.
• Reduce costs from failed transactions, which generate fees and potential customer loss.

Enhanced customer experience and higher conversion rates

Smooth, localized payment experiences are essential to conversion. Customers who don’t find their preferred payment method are more likely to abandon their carts.

• Adapt to local preferences: Customize your payment options to each market.
• Frictionless payment journeys: Smart orchestration avoids unnecessary interruptions and adapts the checkout flow in real time.

How to manage multiple PSPs efficiently?

Payment orchestration solutions: a game-changer

Manually managing multiple PSPs is complex—each integration takes time, tech resources, and ongoing maintenance. That’s where payment orchestration platforms come in.

A payment orchestrator allows you to:

• Connect and activate multiple PSPs without heavy development.
• Set smart routing rules to send each payment to the most cost-effective, high-performing provider.
• Handle failed payments with automatic fallback and retry systems.
• Unify data collection and analysis for optimized performance monitoring.

Centralized payments and real-time analytics

One of the key benefits of orchestration is centralization. Instead of switching between multiple PSP dashboards, all your transactions are consolidated into one platform.

Benefits include:

• Performance tracking and analytics: Compare PSP success rates, identify issues, and adjust strategies instantly.
• Optimized cash flow management: Improve liquidity and reduce transaction costs.
• Simplified accounting: Payment consolidation, automated reconciliation, and fewer reporting errors.

While integrating multiple PSPs may seem daunting, orchestration makes it a powerful growth lever. With automation, cost control, and enhanced security, the benefits are undeniable.

By rethinking their payment strategy, retailers can improve performance and offer smoother experiences to customers. Why settle for just one PSP when smart payment management can make all the difference?

Also read: Purse, an agile and autonomous payment orchestration tool to streamline your roadmap!

As a payment orchestrator, Purse lets you integrate, manage, and optimize your payments through a single interface. With over 80 payment partners, seamless integration, and intelligent transaction orchestration, Purse turns payments into a true growth engine.

Don’t let your payment system hold back your expansion. Contact us today and discover how to optimize your payment strategy!