Payment Orchestration in Australia 2025: A complete guide for businesses

In 2024, digital payments accounted for 53% of all e-commerce transactions in Australia, overtaking traditional card payments and cash for the first time (Coingeek). This surge is fueling rapid industry growth, with Australia’s e-commerce market projected to reach $55 billion by 2025, reflecting an 8% compound annual growth rate. As consumers embrace digital wallets, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, and real-time payments, businesses must adapt to an evolving payment ecosystem that prioritizes speed, security, and seamless customer experiences.

For merchants, managing multiple payment providers, ensuring compliance with strict regulations, and optimizing transaction success rates can be overwhelming. Payment orchestration in Australia simplifies this complexity, offering a centralized solution to route transactions intelligently, reduce failures, and enhance operational efficiency. As Australia moves toward a predominantly cashless economy, businesses that embrace payment orchestration will be better positioned to scale, minimize costs, and stay ahead in an increasingly digital-first marketplace.

Understanding payment orchestration

What is payment orchestration?

Payment orchestration is a technology-driven approach to managing digital payments, allowing businesses to integrate multiple payment service providers (PSPs), fraud prevention tools, and alternative payment methods through a single, centralized platform. Unlike traditional payment solutions that rely on a single PSP or acquiring bank, payment orchestration offers flexibility, efficiency, and better control over transaction flows.

With smart routing capabilities, a payment orchestration platform dynamically selects the best PSP for each transaction, improving approval rates and reducing transaction failures. It also automates failover processes, meaning if one payment provider declines a transaction, the system automatically retries with another, increasing overall payment success.

Discover how payment orchestration works with Gr4vy’s payment orchestration platform.

How it differs from traditional payment gateways and aggregators

Many businesses still rely on payment gateways and aggregators, but these solutions come with limitations:

Feature	Payment orchestration	Payment gateway	Payment aggregator
Multi-PSP support	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
Smart routing	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
Failover management	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
Support for multiple payment methods	✅ Yes	✅ Limited	✅ Limited
Control over PSP relationships	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No

• Payment gateways act as transaction processors but rely on a single PSP, meaning businesses are locked into one provider’s approval rates, fees, and service limitations.
• Payment aggregators bundle multiple merchants under one master account, reducing administrative work but offering little control over transaction flows.
• Payment orchestration provides businesses with direct relationships with multiple PSPs, allowing greater flexibility, reduced costs, and improved transaction success rates.

Key benefits of payment orchestration for businesses

Higher approval rates – Transactions are routed through the best-performing PSP, increasing the likelihood of approval.

Lower transaction costs – Businesses can compare and optimize processing fees by selecting the most cost-effective PSP for each transaction.

Seamless global expansion – Merchants can accept multiple currencies and local payment methods without relying on a single provider.

Automated compliance and fraud prevention – Integrated fraud detection tools and compliance mechanisms reduce chargebacks and regulatory risks.

Improved user experience – Customers enjoy faster, more reliable transactions, leading to higher conversion rates and reduced cart abandonment.

As the Australian payments landscape evolves, businesses that adopt payment orchestration will gain a competitive advantage, ensuring smooth and secure transactions while minimizing operational friction.

The evolving payments landscape in Australia

Growth of digital and contactless payments

Australia is rapidly becoming a cashless society, with digital and contactless payments now dominating everyday transactions. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), card payments account for over 75% of in-person transactions, and contactless methods—including mobile wallets—have become the preferred way to pay. This shift is fueled by consumer demand for speed, convenience, and security, leading businesses to prioritize digital-first payment strategies.

Real-time payment infrastructure, such as the New Payments Platform (NPP) and PayID, has also accelerated the adoption of instant bank transfers, allowing consumers and businesses to complete transactions within seconds. As digital payment volumes continue to rise, businesses must integrate scalable and secure payment solutions to keep pace with evolving consumer expectations.

Rise of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services and their impact

BNPL services such as Afterpay, Zip, Klarna, and Latitude Pay have transformed the Australian retail landscape, providing consumers with flexible, interest-free installment payment options. This trend has significantly influenced consumer spending behavior, particularly among younger demographics who favor alternative credit solutions over traditional credit cards.

The growing reliance on BNPL services presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses:

• Increased sales and average order values – BNPL encourages higher spending by breaking purchases into manageable payments.
• Stronger customer retention – Offering BNPL at checkout can improve conversion rates, reducing cart abandonment.
• Regulatory scrutiny and compliance risks – As BNPL services continue to expand, they face stricter regulatory oversight, requiring businesses to stay updated on evolving compliance requirements.

With BNPL adoption expected to continue growing, merchants must ensure their payment infrastructure supports seamless BNPL integrations while maintaining control over transaction flows and settlement processes.

How businesses are adapting to an increasingly cashless economy

As Australia moves closer to a fully cashless economy, businesses must implement versatile payment solutions that accommodate consumer preferences for contactless, digital, and real-time payments. Key strategies include:

• Offering multiple payment options – Businesses integrating credit cards, digital wallets, BNPL, and direct bank transfers can maximize customer choice and satisfaction.
• Leveraging payment orchestration for seamless transactions – A payment orchestration platform enables businesses to connect with multiple PSPs, optimize routing, and automate compliance, ensuring smooth transaction processing.
• Strengthening security and fraud prevention – With digital payments increasing, businesses must invest in AI-driven fraud detection, tokenization, and end-to-end encryption to protect customer data and prevent cyber threats.

In this fast-changing payments landscape, businesses that adopt flexible and secure payment solutions will be best positioned to meet consumer expectations, reduce transaction costs, and stay ahead of regulatory shifts.

Key payment regulations in Australia

The role of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in payments regulation

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) plays a critical role in overseeing the national payments infrastructure, ensuring that payment systems remain efficient, secure, and competitive. It regulates payment providers, enforces security standards, and promotes greater transparency in transaction processing. The RBA’s Payment Systems Board is responsible for regulating interchange fees, payment surcharges, and access to payment networks, impacting how businesses manage transaction costs and provider relationships.

For businesses adopting payment orchestration, staying aligned with RBA regulations is crucial to ensure compliance, cost efficiency, and seamless integrations with Australia’s regulated financial ecosystem.

Compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)

PCI DSS compliance is a mandatory security standard for any business that processes, stores, or transmits cardholder data. It establishes strict encryption, authentication, and security requirements to prevent fraud and data breaches.

Businesses that adopt payment orchestration platforms can leverage built-in PCI DSS compliance measures, such as tokenization, end-to-end encryption, and secure payment vaulting, reducing their compliance burden while protecting customer payment data.

🔗 Learn more about PCI DSS compliance and secure payment storage with Gr4vy’s tokenization and vaulting solutions.

The New Payments Platform (NPP) and real-time payment innovations

Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP) enables real-time, data-rich payments through services like PayID and Osko, providing businesses and consumers with instant transaction capabilities. The RBA continues to expand NPP functionality, making real-time payments a key focus for future financial infrastructure.

For businesses, payment orchestration can simplify NPP adoption by integrating real-time payment providers into a single platform, ensuring faster settlements, lower transaction costs, and improved customer experience.

Consumer Data Right (CDR) and Open Banking: How they shape payment orchestration

The Consumer Data Right (CDR) and Open Banking framework give Australian consumers greater control over their financial data, allowing them to share transaction information securely between financial institutions and third-party providers. This regulation is transforming how payments are processed by increasing competition, enhancing security, and driving innovation in financial services.

For businesses using payment orchestration, Open Banking unlocks new opportunities, including:

• Faster, direct bank payments with lower fees
• Improved fraud detection using real-time consumer data insights
• Enhanced customer verification processes for secure transactions

By leveraging Open Banking integrations, businesses can enhance payment efficiency, security, and personalization, offering customers greater control over their payment preferences.

Why Australian businesses need payment orchestration in 2025

Reducing payment failures and improving authorization rates

One of the biggest challenges businesses face is failed transactions due to payment declines, fraud checks, or provider downtimes. Payment orchestration minimizes these failures by dynamically routing transactions to the most reliable payment service provider (PSP) based on real-time success rates and risk assessments.

• Smart routing increases approval rates by directing payments to the best-performing acquirers.
• Automatic failover ensures payments are retried with another provider if the first attempt fails.
• AI-driven fraud detection prevents false declines and enhances security.

By reducing payment failures, businesses can increase revenue, enhance customer satisfaction, and minimize cart abandonment rates.

Expanding payment method support: Cards, BNPL, digital wallets, and bank transfers

Australian consumers expect a seamless, flexible payment experience across multiple channels, from credit and debit cards to BNPL, mobile wallets, and real-time bank transfers. Payment orchestration enables businesses to support a wide range of payment methods without the complexity of managing multiple integrations.

• BNPL options (Afterpay, Zip, Klarna) attract younger consumers and increase conversion rates.
• Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay) drive contactless adoption.
• Real-time bank payments via NPP/Osko reduce reliance on traditional card networks.

By integrating multiple payment methods through a single orchestration platform, businesses can maximize customer choice and improve checkout experiences.

Optimizing cross-border payments for international sales

For Australian businesses expanding globally, cross-border payment efficiency is essential. Traditional payment setups often struggle with currency conversions, high processing fees, and slow settlement times.

Payment orchestration streamlines international transactions by:

• Automatically routing payments through local acquirers to reduce fees.
• Providing multi-currency support for seamless global expansion.
• Ensuring compliance with regional payment regulations.

By optimizing cross-border payments, businesses can lower costs, improve customer trust, and scale internationally with ease.

Managing compliance and fraud prevention more effectively

Regulatory compliance and fraud prevention are top priorities for Australian businesses, especially with rising cyber threats and stricter data protection laws. Payment orchestration simplifies compliance by offering:

• Automated fraud detection tools powered by AI and machine learning.
• Tokenization and encryption to secure customer payment details.
• Real-time compliance monitoring to meet PCI DSS, Open Banking, and AML regulations.

By centralizing fraud prevention and compliance within a payment orchestration platform, businesses can reduce risk exposure while maintaining seamless payment flows.

Explore the benefits of payment orchestration with Gr4vy’s payment optimization solutions.

How payment orchestration works in the Australian market

Smart transaction routing for better approval rates

In Australia’s rapidly evolving payments landscape, businesses face challenges with payment declines, high processing costs, and varied consumer preferences. Payment orchestration solves these issues by enabling smart transaction routing, where each transaction is dynamically sent to the most optimal payment service provider (PSP) based on real-time success rates, geographic preferences, and transaction type.

For instance, an e-commerce business might find that Visa transactions have a higher approval rate with a local Australian acquirer, while international purchases perform better with a global PSP. With smart routing, payments are automatically directed to the best-performing provider, reducing failure rates and maximizing revenue.

With Australia’s payment landscape shifting rapidly, businesses must adapt to consumer behavior and emerging payment preferences. Learn more about the latest payment trends in Australia for 2025 in this comprehensive guide.

Multi-provider integration for greater payment flexibility

Unlike traditional payment setups, which lock businesses into a single PSP or acquiring bank, payment orchestration enables seamless integration with multiple providers. This means businesses can:

• Offer wider payment acceptance, supporting credit cards, digital wallets, BNPL, and local payment methods.
• Switch between PSPs without disrupting operations, reducing downtime and processing delays.
• Expand internationally with region-specific payment providers, ensuring higher approval rates and lower transaction costs.

By integrating multiple PSPs, businesses gain greater flexibility, optimizing costs while maintaining a frictionless payment experience for customers.

Automated failover mechanisms to prevent transaction declines

A major pain point for businesses is failed transactions, whether due to bank downtimes, technical issues, or fraud prevention filters. Payment orchestration solves this problem with automated failover mechanisms, where a declined transaction is instantly retried through an alternative PSP without the customer having to reattempt payment.

For example:

• If a BNPL transaction via Afterpay is declined, the payment orchestration platform can instantly reroute it to Zip or Klarna, ensuring the customer can complete their purchase.
• If a credit card transaction is declined due to issuer-specific restrictions, the system can retry the charge through a different acquirer or an alternative payment method like a digital wallet.

This reduces cart abandonment, ensures seamless checkout experiences, and improves overall conversion rates.

AI-driven fraud detection and compliance management

Fraud and compliance remain top concerns for Australian businesses, particularly with the rise of real-time payments and digital wallets. A payment orchestration platform integrates AI-powered fraud detection, analyzing transactions in real time to detect anomalies, prevent chargebacks, and reduce false declines.

With machine learning-based fraud prevention, businesses can:

• Detect high-risk transactions before they are processed.
• Adapt fraud detection based on customer behavior and payment trends.
• Ensure compliance with Australian regulatory requirements like PCI DSS and Open Banking standards.

By integrating AI-driven fraud detection, businesses can improve security while reducing manual intervention, ensuring smoother transactions with minimal risk exposure.

Understanding Australia’s most popular payment methods in 2025 is crucial for implementing the right fraud prevention and compliance strategies. Explore the most widely used payment options in Australia in this complete guide.

Local payment methods in Australia and their impact on businesses

Credit and debit cards: Visa, Mastercard, and eftpos

Credit and debit cards remain the most widely used payment method in Australia, with Visa and Mastercard dominating online and in-store transactions. However, eftpos, Australia’s local debit card network, plays a significant role in reducing processing fees and offering domestic payment solutions.

For businesses, supporting all three card networks is essential for maximizing payment acceptance and minimizing processing costs.

Digital wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay

Contactless and mobile payments have seen massive adoption, particularly with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay leading the charge. These digital wallets allow frictionless payments via NFC-enabled devices, making checkout faster and more secure.

Businesses that support mobile wallets benefit from:

• Higher conversion rates due to fast and seamless transactions.
• Enhanced security with biometric authentication and tokenized transactions.
• Increased customer preference, especially among younger demographics.

With over 90% of face-to-face transactions in Australia now contactless, accepting digital wallets is no longer optional—it’s a necessity.

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): Afterpay, Zip, Klarna, and Latitude Pay

Australia was one of the first markets to embrace BNPL at scale, and services like Afterpay, Zip, Klarna, and Latitude Pay continue to drive consumer spending. BNPL enables customers to split purchases into smaller installments without interest, making it an attractive option for retail and e-commerce businesses.

By integrating BNPL, businesses can:

• Increase average order values, as customers are more likely to make larger purchases.
• Reduce cart abandonment rates, offering flexible payment solutions.
• Attract younger consumers, who prefer BNPL over traditional credit cards.

Real-time payments through PayID and Osko (NPP infrastructure)

Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP) has revolutionized how businesses and consumers send money. With PayID and Osko, payments can be completed in real time, 24/7, offering a faster alternative to traditional bank transfers.

For businesses, NPP integration provides:

• Instant settlement of payments, reducing delays in fund access.
• Lower transaction costs compared to credit card processing fees.
• Better customer experience, particularly for service-based industries and B2B payments.

Cryptocurrency and emerging payment options

While cryptocurrency payments are still in their early adoption stage in Australia, businesses are beginning to explore digital assets as a viable payment method. With global brands supporting crypto transactions, Australian businesses may soon follow suit, particularly for:

• High-value purchases, such as real estate and luxury goods.
• International transactions, reducing foreign exchange costs.
• Decentralized finance (DeFi) integrations, allowing users to pay directly from crypto wallets.

As consumer interest in alternative payment methods grows, businesses that stay ahead of trends will be best positioned to offer flexible, future-ready payment solutions.

The future of payment orchestration in Australia

Trends shaping the payments industry in the next five years

Australia’s payment landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by technological advancements, regulatory changes, and shifting consumer preferences. Over the next five years, several key trends will shape how businesses approach payment orchestration and digital transactions:

• Expansion of real-time payments – With the New Payments Platform (NPP) continuing to evolve, businesses will increasingly adopt real-time settlement solutions to reduce delays and improve cash flow.
• Growth of digital wallets and mobile commerce – Contactless transactions will continue to rise, with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and BNPL services playing a dominant role in consumer spending.
• Stronger compliance requirements – Regulations like the Consumer Data Right (CDR) and enhanced PCI DSS requirements will push businesses to adopt more secure and compliant payment solutions.
• Increased demand for multi-currency and cross-border payments – Australian businesses expanding internationally will leverage payment orchestration to optimize foreign transactions and reduce FX conversion fees.

To stay competitive, businesses must adopt flexible, scalable payment strategies that support emerging payment technologies and compliance requirements.

How AI and machine learning will enhance payment security and efficiency

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are set to revolutionize payment orchestration, providing businesses with:

• Real-time fraud detection – AI-driven risk analysis can identify fraudulent transactions instantly, reducing chargebacks and false declines.
• Smart transaction routing – Machine learning optimizes payment approval rates by selecting the best PSP based on historical transaction success.
• Automated compliance monitoring – AI-powered tools can detect regulatory risks, ensuring that transactions align with PCI DSS, AML, and Open Banking requirements.

As AI and ML continue to improve payment intelligence, businesses using orchestration platforms with AI capabilities will benefit from higher approval rates, lower fraud risks, and a more seamless payment experience.

The role of real-time payments and Open Banking in future transactions

With Open Banking expanding in Australia, businesses will gain access to real-time financial data, allowing for faster, more secure, and data-rich transactions. Combined with real-time payments via PayID and Osko, Open Banking will drive:

• Instant bank-to-bank payments with lower fees than credit cards.
• Seamless customer authentication for secure transactions.
• Faster business settlements, improving cash flow and financial operations.

By leveraging payment orchestration alongside Open Banking, businesses can provide faster, smarter, and more cost-effective payment options while maintaining full compliance with regulatory standards.

The business case for payment orchestration in 2025

With Australia’s payments ecosystem becoming increasingly complex, businesses must ensure that their payment infrastructure is efficient, secure, and adaptable. Payment orchestration provides the necessary flexibility, allowing companies to:

✔ Improve payment success rates with smart routing and multi-PSP integration.
✔ Reduce transaction costs by selecting the most cost-effective providers.
✔ Ensure compliance with evolving PCI DSS, Open Banking, and CDR regulations.
✔ Support a diverse range of payment methods, from BNPL and digital wallets to real-time bank transfers.

By implementing a payment orchestration platform, businesses future-proof their payment strategy, ensuring seamless transactions while maintaining control over payment operations.

How to integrate a payment orchestration platform seamlessly

Adopting a payment orchestration platform does not require replacing existing payment systems. Instead, it serves as a unified layer that connects multiple PSPs, fraud prevention tools, and alternative payment methods, providing:

• API-based integrations for quick deployment.
• Customizable routing rules to optimize approvals.
• Scalable architecture that grows with business needs.

With a well-planned implementation strategy, businesses can integrate payment orchestration without disrupting existing checkout flows, ensuring minimal downtime and maximum efficiency.

Where to start: Contacting a payment orchestration expert for a consultation

For Australian businesses looking to optimize payments, reduce costs, and enhance security, working with a payment orchestration provider is the best next step.

Learn how a payment orchestration platform can transform your business—Contact a Gr4vy expert today.