SERVICES / 04 — Payments
Payments are infrastructure. Treat them that way.
Palfora combines software engineering with first-hand payments industry experience. We integrate processors, design checkout and billing flows, and help you choose and negotiate the processing relationship behind them. Implementation and the commercial side, handled by the same people.
Read the statement like a stack trace.
Phillip Parker has worked in and around the payments industry since 2005 and founded CardPaymentOptions.com, the independent processor-review site now published as PaymentPop. That background means we read a merchant statement the way we read a stack trace, and we can sit on your side of the table when a processor quotes you.
| Description | Rate | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card volume | $100,000.00 | ||
| Interchange | 1.80% | $1,800.00 | Set by the card networks, not the processor. |
| Assessments | 0.14% | $140.00 | |
| Processor markup | 0.30% | $300.00 | The negotiable line. |
| Monthly fees | $60.00 | ||
| Effective rate | 2.30% | $2,300.00 | The only number to compare processors on. |
- InterchangeSet by the card networks, not the processor.
- Processor markupThe negotiable line.
- Effective rateThe only number to compare processors on.
Why payment decisions reach further than the checkout page.
A processing choice made early shapes more of the system than most teams expect.
| No. | Concern | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| P-01 | Architecture | Tokenisation, vaulting and which services ever see card data. |
| P-02 | Checkout experience | Payment methods, failure handling and how fast a customer gets to a receipt. |
| P-03 | Compliance | PCI DSS scope, data retention and what your auditors will ask about. |
| P-04 | Data handling | What you store, for how long, and how refunds and disputes are reconciled. |
| P-05 | Processor compatibility | Which gateways, platforms and hardware work with which accounts. |
| P-06 | Transaction costs | Interchange, markups and fees that compound with every sale. |
| P-07 | Scalability | What happens when volume grows, when you add a second currency, or when a processor changes terms. |
Implementation
- Payment integrations
- Payment architecture
- Payment compliance
- Checkout and payment-flow optimisation
- Payment API integrations
Commercial
- Payment processor selection
- Merchant account consulting
- Processor cost analysis
- Processing cost negotiation
What the work covers.
| No. | Capability | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SVC-04-01 | Payment integrations | Card, ACH, wallet and gateway integrations, from hosted checkout to fully custom payment flows. |
| SVC-04-02 | Payment architecture | Where card data lives, how tokens flow, how refunds, disputes and reconciliation work, and how the design keeps your compliance scope small. |
| SVC-04-03 | Payment compliance | Systems designed to minimise PCI DSS scope and support your compliance program. We advise and build; we are not an assessor and do not certify compliance. |
| SVC-04-04 | Payment processor selection | Independent evaluation of processors and gateways against your volume, industry, channel mix and risk profile. |
| SVC-04-05 | Merchant account consulting | Applications, underwriting, reserves, contract terms and the clauses most businesses discover later. |
| SVC-04-06 | Processor cost analysis | Line-by-line statement analysis: effective rate, interchange pass-through, markups and the fees that can be removed. |
| SVC-04-07 | Processing cost negotiation | We negotiate rates and terms with your current processor, or help you switch, with the numbers to back the conversation. |
| SVC-04-08 | Checkout and payment-flow optimisation | Fewer steps, better error handling, wallet support, saved payment methods and instrumentation that shows where checkout loses people. |
| SVC-04-09 | Payment API integrations | Payouts, marketplaces, invoicing, subscriptions and webhooks that stay consistent when the network does not. |
How the work gets done.
What an engagement looks like.
Payments work ranges from a focused integration to an ongoing advisory role.
- Integration: a processor or gateway wired into your application, with testing, webhooks and reconciliation
- Architecture review: a written assessment of an existing payment system with prioritised changes
- Cost analysis and negotiation: statement review, savings estimate and support through renegotiation or migration
- Processor selection: a shortlist with pricing models, contract terms and integration effort for each option