Payments & Gateway Ops
When money doesn't land where you expect. PSP routing, 3DS friction, local payment failures, gateway fallbacks. Fix payment reliability, not just approval rates.
The Problem
Money doesn't land where you expect. Common issues:
- PSP routing failures (payment sent to wrong processor)
- 3DS friction causing legitimate customers to abandon
- Local payment methods failing silently
- Gateway fallbacks not triggering
- Approval rates look good, but revenue doesn't match
You're tracking approval rates, but not payment reliability. They're not the same thing.
PSP Routing: What Goes Wrong
Payment Service Provider (PSP) routing determines which payment processor handles each transaction. Common failures:
- Geographic routing: Customer in EU, but payment routed to US processor = higher fees + potential failure
- Currency mismatch: Payment in EUR routed to USD-only processor
- Card type routing: Amex routed to processor that doesn't support it
- Fallback logic: Primary processor fails, but fallback doesn't trigger
3DS Friction: Balancing Security vs Conversion
When 3DS is Required
- EU/UK transactions (SCA mandate)
- High-value transactions (>€250 typically)
- Risky transactions flagged by fraud tools
Problem: 3DS adds friction. Customers abandon during challenge.
Reducing 3DS Friction
- Use 3DS exemptions where possible (low-risk, low-value, trusted customers)
- Implement 3DS v2.2 (smoother UX than v1)
- Test 3DS flow on real devices (not just dev environment)
- Monitor 3DS abandonment rates by country/device
- Consider alternative authentication for trusted customers
Local Payment Failures
Local payment methods (iDEAL, SEPA, Klarna, etc.) fail for different reasons than card payments:
iDEAL (Netherlands)
- Requires Dutch bank account
- Must redirect to bank's payment page
- Failure: Customer doesn't complete redirect, or timeout
SEPA Direct Debit
- Requires IBAN and mandate
- Can take 3-5 days to process
- Failure: Invalid IBAN, insufficient funds, mandate not signed
Klarna/Buy Now Pay Later
- Credit check required
- Country-specific availability
- Failure: Credit denied, not available in customer's country
Gateway Fallback Strategy
When primary payment method fails, fallback should trigger automatically:
- 1.Primary processor fails
Stripe declines → automatically try PayPal
- 2.Local payment fails
iDEAL unavailable → offer credit card as fallback
- 3.3DS challenge fails
Customer abandons 3DS → offer alternative payment method
- 4.Monitor fallback success rates
Track which fallbacks work, which don't. Optimize routing.
Payment Reliability Checklist
- ☐Test payment flow on real devices (iOS, Android, desktop)
- ☐Monitor payment success rates by country, device, payment method
- ☐Set up alerts for payment failure spikes
- ☐Verify PSP routing logic (geographic, currency, card type)
- ☐Test 3DS flow and exemptions
- ☐Verify fallback logic triggers correctly
- ☐Track payment reliability (not just approval rates)