Payment Optimization
Optimization means getting more good payments through at a lower cost. Most gains come from a few levers: where payments are routed, how declines are handled and how authentication is applied.
Approval rates
Approval rate is the share of attempted payments that succeed. Track it by issuer, card type and market to find where declines come from.
Decline handling
Separate hard declines, which should not be retried, from soft declines, which may succeed later. Clear customer messages recover some lost sales.
3-D Secure and authentication
Authentication can reduce fraud and shift liability, but it adds friction. Apply it by risk level rather than to every payment.
Processing cost
Compare total cost, including interchange, scheme and processor fees, rather than the headline rate. Interchange-plus pricing shows each cost separately.