What Is Smart Routing and How Can It Boost Payment Approvals?

Payment failures don’t just cause frustration — they damage revenue. For businesses operating across regions, currencies, and customer preferences, these failed transactions quickly become a hidden cost. But there’s a solution: smart routing.

This is a dynamic payment optimisation tool that increases approval rates, reduces costs, and improves the customer experience. It ensures that every transaction is routed to the best possible acquirer or payment provider, based on live data and predefined rules.

If your business operates internationally or processes a high volume of payments, this technology isn’t just helpful — it is essential.

What Is Smart Routing?

Smart routing is a form of payment logic used within a payment orchestration platform. When a customer initiates a payment, the system instantly evaluates various parameters — including card type, issuing country, currency, past performance by acquirers, and more.

Instead of sending the transaction to a single provider, smart routing picks the most suitable one from a network of acquirers and PSPs.

The aim is simple: increase the chances of the transaction being approved while minimising costs and delays.

Let’s say a customer in Canada attempts to pay using Interac. Rather than routing the transaction to a default processor, Finera’s intelligent payment routing evaluates available options and chooses the acquirer with the best historical success rate for Interac payments in that region. If one acquirer is experiencing downtime or low approval rates, the system bypasses it, instantly and automatically.

Why Approval Rates Matter

Most businesses track conversion rates and cart abandonment. Fewer monitor their payment approval rates — and that’s a mistake.

Each declined transaction represents lost revenue. Often, these declines are avoidable: they result from outdated acquirer preferences, lack of local payment methods, or network issues that could be solved with better routing logic.

With Finera’s smart routing, businesses gain access to an intelligent payment routing engine that continuously learns and adapts to improve performance. It is also useful for businesses operating in high-risk payment processing environments, where approval rates tend to fluctuate more widely.

How Smart Routing Boosts Approvals

Smart routing works in real time. It takes into account:

• Acquirer performance for the specific payment method
• Country-specific success trends
• Network availability and latency
• Fee structures and interchange rates
• Past approval rates by payment type or issuer

For example, a debit card payment in the LATAM might have a higher approval rate through a local acquirer than a global payment gateway. Smart routing selects the local acquirer automatically.

Built-In Flexibility

Smart routing also builds resilience into your payment operations.

When one route fails, another is ready. If a payment processor is down or overloaded, the system reroutes traffic through a functioning acquirer, with no disruption to your customer.

For businesses operating in multiple regions, this flexibility is key. Payment behaviour varies by country, currency, and channel. Smart routing ensures every customer uses the method that works best for them, while you benefit from higher approval rates and fewer declines.

Smart Routing at Finera

At Finera, smart routing is not a standalone feature. It’s integrated into a broader payment orchestration platform designed for scale, speed, and security.

Finera connects you to a global acquirer network, giving your business access to real-time payment analytics. The platform automatically routes payments to the acquirer or PSP with the best recent track record for approval, and it adjusts constantly as conditions change.

You also benefit from:

• Multi-currency payment processing
• Support for alternative payment methods (like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Interac, and BLIK)
• Instant connections via open banking
• Detailed real-time analytics 
• PCI DSS-compliant infrastructure for secure online payments
• Payment gateway integration via API-based systems to plug into your existing setup
  
  

From processing payments in the UK to disbursing payouts across Europe and supporting transactions in Canada, Finera uses smart routing to ensure fast, reliable, and optimised payment performance for your business.

Is Smart Routing Right for Your Business?

Consider the following:

• Are your approval rates lower than expected?
  
  
• Are you operating in regions where local payment methods are preferred?
  
  
• Are you working with multiple PSPs or planning to expand into new markets?
  
  
• Are you losing revenue to processing fees, chargebacks, or failed transactions?
  
  

If the answer is yes, smart routing could bring immediate improvements.

It removes the guesswork and replaces it with data-driven decisions. It increases success rates without changing your payment flow. And it supports your expansion with the right infrastructure in place.

Curious how smart routing could impact your business? Talk to our payment experts today.

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