"Payments in 2025 are at a turning point. What was once a pursuit of universal efficiency has become a competition among various market systems, each with its own philosophies, capabilities, and constraints." [The 2025 McKinsey Global Payments Report]

Large retailers are feeling this shift acutely. Today's customers expect diverse checkout options: traditional cards alongside digital wallets, QR codes, and instant bank transfers. Yet managing multiple payment providers creates mounting complexity. Costs rise. Operational resources stretch thin.

What's the answer? A payment orchestration platform that provides a unified approach to handling this fragmentation across channels and markets.

Payment Gateway Orchestration: A Single Platform for Greater Control

Think of payment orchestration as a central command centre for transaction management. Payment gateway orchestration allows businesses to oversee multiple payment service providers, acquirers, and gateways through one interface. The benefits are tangible and immediate.

Retailers can implement payment routing optimisation based on cost or performance criteria, whilst multi-acquirer management improves resilience. Automatic failover mechanisms redirect transactions when a provider experiences downtime, improving overall reliability. This centralised model also supports alternative payment methods and localised options across markets, from cards and QR codes to wallets and real-time account-to-account (A2A) transfers.

The advantages extend beyond checkout. Improved reconciliation reduces manual effort, whilst centralised visibility enables better cash management optimisation across providers. Early exception identification helps finance teams flag discrepancies before they escalate into larger problems. As new rails continue to emerge, this unified approach offers a way to integrate them without layering additional complexity onto existing operations.

Why HPS: Enabling Innovation Through Orchestration

HPS provides capabilities that help large organisations consolidate acceptance across card and non-card rails. This unified payment platform adapts to regional preferences, including A2A transfers and QR-based systems. Retailers can serve customers with locally preferred options regardless of geography.

HPS experience includes powering national-level infrastructure and connecting diverse transaction networks. This foundation translates directly into practical benefits: the reliability and adaptability required when operating across multiple markets.

For companies managing complex, multi-geography operations, this combination of flexibility and scale proves essential.

Example: Real-Time A2A Payments for Merchants – From National Rail to Retail Checkout

Real-time A2A transfers are expanding rapidly through national switches and QR-based systems. HPS supports this infrastructure in markets such as Morocco and Ghana. Digitally enabled retailers in these regions already see concrete advantages.

Settlement happens faster, improving cash flow. Acceptance broadens to include bank transfers, QR codes, and wallets. Transaction costs often run lower than traditional card networks.

Whilst HPS frequently partners with central banks or schemes to build foundational infrastructure, downstream benefits reach retailers quickly. Faster settlement timelines strengthen cash flow, whilst expanded options support checkout conversion optimisation by matching customer preferences.

Looking Ahead: Alternative Payment Methods and Emerging Models

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are gaining momentum in certain regions such as the Caribbean. For most large organisations today, however, supporting CBDCs represents a future consideration rather than an immediate operational priority.

Another trend gathering pace is the rise of stablecoins. As Citigroup notes in its recent analysis: "The movement towards using blockchain technology for instantaneous settlement and real-time confirmation is a natural progression towards a 24x7, always-on world and something we have already been investing in."

Retailers operating across geographies need platforms capable of incorporating new rails as they mature. HPS brings experience integrating national-rail infrastructure and emerging transaction models. This positions HPS to help businesses integrate evolving rails via PowerCARD.

Building Control in a Complex Payments Landscape

Growing complexity challenges retailers across multiple markets, providers, and transaction types. Payment orchestration creates consistency and control. It supports localised flexibility where needed.

HPS combines proven experience in both merchant and infrastructure environments: positioned to support retailers as the payment landscape continues to evolve.

Interested in simplifying your payments ecosystem and future-proofing with orchestration? Speak with HPS about PowerCARD—the all-in-one platform for managing card, non-card and alternative rails in one command centre.