How do you evaluate and compare different payment system architecture patterns and vendors?

1 Payment system architecture patterns

Payment system architecture patterns are the high-level design choices that define how a payment system interacts with other components, such as the user interface, the business logic, the database, and the payment gateway. Common payment system architecture patterns include monolithic, microservices, and serverless. Monolithic is a single application handling all payment functions which is simple to develop and deploy but difficult to scale. Microservices use independent services communicating through APIs which is more scalable but complex to manage. Serverless uses cloud-based functions triggered by events and is cost-efficient and easy to deploy, but can have performance and security issues.

2 Payment system vendors

Payment system vendors are the companies that provide the payment system software or platform, as well as the payment gateway service that connects the payment system to the payment networks, such as Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal. Three popular payment system vendors are Stripe, Braintree, and Adyen. Stripe is a cloud-based platform with comprehensive APIs and tools for managing payments. Braintree offers integration with PayPal and other payment methods, as well as support for recurring payments and subscriptions. Adyen is a platform that enables merchants to accept payments across channels, with features like risk management, data analytics, and loyalty programs. All three vendors support multiple payment methods, currencies, and regions, and handle security, compliance, and fraud prevention.

3 Evaluation criteria

When evaluating and comparing different payment system architecture patterns and vendors, you should consider the security, scalability, performance, cost, compliance, and integration criteria. Security should include the payment system's ability to protect against unauthorized access, data breaches, or cyberattacks as well as its compliance with regulations and standards. Scalability should assess the payment system's capacity to handle increasing or fluctuating volumes of transactions, users, or features. Performance should measure the speed and reliability of processing payments, authorizations, verifications, settlements, and reports. Cost should consider the fees for developing, deploying, maintaining, and updating the payment system. Compliance should evaluate how well the payment system adheres to legal and regulatory requirements in the markets it operates in. Finally, integration should assess how easily the payment system can be integrated with other components such as user interface or database.

4 Comparison methods

To compare different payment system architecture patterns and vendors, you can employ benchmarking, SWOT analysis, and scorecard. Benchmarking involves measuring and comparing the performance, quality, or features of different payment systems using standardized metrics, tests, or indicators. SWOT analysis is a framework for identifying and evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of different payment systems. Scorecard is a tool for rating and ranking different payment systems based on a set of criteria and weights. These methods can help you assess the advantages and disadvantages of different payment systems in terms of security, scalability, performance, cost, compliance, and integration.

5 Decision factors

When making a final decision on which payment system architecture pattern and vendor to choose, you should consider the business goals, customer needs, and future trends. It is important to consider how the payment system aligns with and supports your business goals, as well as how it enhances customer experience and satisfaction. Additionally, you should take into account the current and emerging trends in the online payment industry. The payment system should be able to adapt to and leverage future trends and opportunities while also anticipating and mitigating any future risks or threats.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?