For acquirers and Payfacs, keeping up with the technological advances that customers demand while maintaining cost-effective operations can all come down to infrastructure. You likely face an important decision: build custom solutions in-house or buy Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions. The choice isn't simple, and each option has trade-offs.
As many as 70% of global payments and product executives agree that the technical challenges of integrating with outdated legacy systems are an obstacle.1 This clear consensus underscores the pressing need to not just keep pace, but leap forward by exploring alternative, modern solutions for the future.
The ‘build versus buy’ debate
Balancing innovation, cost, and implementation is crucial, but opinions remain divided in many companies. Data and engineering teams prefer custom in-house solutions for control and customisation, despite the higher costs and time required. Customer teams favor off-the-shelf solutions for speed and cost-efficiency, although these may limit customisation and cause vendor lock-in.
In-house development ensures security and regulatory compliance but can be expensive and time consuming. Furthermore, end-to-end Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions that are closed can lead to dead ends or unexpected cost spirals. These hurdles can substantially slow innovation.
The rise of open platforms is transforming the debate.
The rise of composability
An open payments platform offers flexibility, security, and customisation without the high costs of in-house solutions or getting locked into closed systems. One easy integration with the Visa Acceptance Platform gives you access to modular payment solutions—payment processing, token management, fraud and risk management, pre-integrated partner solutions and more—that enhance the merchant experience and drive growth.
Our APIs and SDKs connect easily to other payment technologies, preventing vendor dependence and providing global reach through a single connection. We support processing across multiple payment networks, with 280+ acquirers and processors and 100+ technology partners in 160+ countries and territories.2
Flexibility to meet diverse demands
We understand your complex investment challenges and how today's decisions impact future innovation. Our Visa Acceptance Platform is designed for flexibility and quick adaptation to fit in or alongside your current infrastructure. Connecting to the Visa Acceptance Platform helps acquirers and Payfacs:
1. Drive customer growth and accelerate innovation
A trusted open payment platform allows you to reach new markets and merchant segments through built-in modular payment services and an ecosystem of innovative pre-integrated partner solutions. This expands your merchant base, speeds up your time to market, and provides diverse capabilities for a competitive edge.
2. Seamless customer experience across channels
Customers expect merchants to give them a consistent experience across all channels, and merchants rely on acquirers and payment service providers to offer capabilities across these channels. The Visa Acceptance Platform provides a single platform to deliver a seamless omnichannel customer experience. And with our Token Management Service, merchants can create unique experiences for their customers to drive engagement and loyalty.
3. Reduce cost and complexity by streamlining integration
Make modular payment services central to your business. Connect a secure, resilient, and compliant ecosystem of payment services and partner solutions directly into your offerings. This enables merchants to accept various payment methods without complex integrations, ensuring you and your merchants are prepared for new trends and technologies.
Let’s keep infrastructure open
By utilizing the composability of our open payments platform, we enable you to build the capabilities necessary for modern technologies. This ensures that as merchants and their customers require new payment methods, digital advancements, or scalability, you have the needed flexibility and infrastructure. You are then free to focus on your unique differentiators and strategic goals without being constrained by outdated systems or platform limitations. It could be pivotal factor that separates survival from substantial growth.
Interested to find out how we can support your business growth? Arrange for a consultation with our team or reach out to me today. And find out more about how we support Payfacs here.
1 Payments Modernization and Technology: Priorities, Challenges, and Partnerships, Aite-Novarica Impact Report, April 2023.
2 As of April 2023.
Disclaimer: Case studies, comparisons, statistics, research, and recommendations are provided “AS IS” and intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for operational, marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice. Visa neither makes any warranty or representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the information within this document, nor assumes any liability or responsibility that may result from reliance on such information. The Information contained herein is not intended as investment or legal advice, and readers are encouraged to seek the advice of a competent professional where such advice is required.